Day: December 31, 2024

French President Emmanuel Macron has described the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East as threats to his country’s security, unity, and economy. He also warned that election manipulations in Georgia, Moldova, and Romania pose a danger to European democracy, according to Macron’s New Year address to the French people and Reuters.

The French leader delivered a New Year’s speech, marking the end of a tumultuous 2024 for him. Earlier in the year, he shocked the nation by calling for early elections. This move backfired, creating a hung parliament with a significant rise in ultra-right-wing lawmakers, weakening Macron’s power.

“Lucidity and humility force (me) to recognise that at this stage, this decision has produced more instability than peace, and I fully own up to that. The dissolution caused more divisions in the Assembly than solutions for the French people,” the president said, clearly accepting his fault after the elections.

Macron justified his decision to call for early elections following a poor result in the European elections by the need to clarify the political situation. However, he lost his working majority and spent two months forming a minority government, which ultimately collapsed in December – marking the first time this has happened in France since 1962.

As a result, France was unable to approve its 2025 budget by the end of the year, and Macron was forced to appoint his fourth prime minister of the year in December – centrist veteran François Bayrou.

Use of referendums

Macron also opened the door to the use of referendums in 2025. Without explicitly using the word, he stated that he would ask the French people to decide on crucial issues, though he did not specify which ones.

“I want us to act with 2050 in our sights. We will have choices to make, for our economy, our democracy, our security, our children,” he said.

The French Constitution grants the president the power to initiate referendums.

In the past, Macron has also used citizens’ assemblies – gatherings of randomly selected citizens without any binding powers – to suppress uprisings, such as the yellow vest protests.

Tariff war with the US

Regarding international issues, in which he retains broad diplomatic and military powers, Macron stated that the European Union must stop being naive when it comes to international trade, as the bloc faces the threat of rising tariffs from newly elected US President Donald Trump.

“We must say no to trade rules enacted by others and that we are the only ones to still comply with, say no to everything that makes us more dependent on others, without tradeoffs and without preparing the future,” he said.

War in Ukraine is a threat to security

Macron also stated that the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are not distant conflicts. According to him, these conflicts directly concern France and pose a threat to its security, unity, and economy.

He referred to recent events in Syria, election manipulations in Moldova, Georgia, and Romania, as well as terrorist attacks in Europe, as signs of a threat to European democracy.

Macron emphasized that terrorist attacks in Europe and on their borders demonstrated that security and the proper functioning of democracies could never be taken for granted.

The president is convinced that, for this reason, Europe must stop delegating its security and defense to other countries. At the same time, France must continue investing in military rearmament to guarantee its sovereignty.

The French president also urged EU partners, who often rely on the US security umbrella, to do more for their defense.

Situation in France

On December 23, France formed a new government led by Prime Minister François Bayrou. Eight ministers from the previous cabinet retained their positions in the new government.

Throughout the ongoing full-scale war, France, alongside the UK, has been actively providing military assistance to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

Recently, it was revealed that a pro-Russian hacker group targeted the portals of several French cities in retaliation for France’s support of Ukraine.

France became one of three countries to send financial aid of 150 million euros to Ukraine. The funds will be directed towards the production of weapons.

Meanwhile, the French Air Force carried out strikes on Islamic State positions in Syria.