Emmanuel Macron has traveled to Greenland, personally invited by local Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen, and as "a show of solidarity" from the European Union facing the challenge of Donald Trump. The French president is the first European politician to visit the world's largest island after the threats of annexation by the U.S. president.
"My idea is to say that we are here, that we are going to reinvest in ourselves so that (Greenland) does not become prey to geopolitical interests," Macron declared on the eve of his symbolic visit, on his way to the G7 meeting in Canada.
Macron's intense day is marked by a stop at the Nunatarsuaq Mountain Glacier ("the land beyond the ice"), where he will meet with scientists at a climate change research center, followed by a visit to the Buksefjord hydroelectric plant. The second part will have a markedly political character, with a working lunch with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Jens Frederik Nielsen. The three are expected to conclude the visit with a late afternoon press conference on Sunday.
"I have come to bring a message of friendship and solidarity from France and the European Union to help this territory face the challenges ahead," Macron declared as soon as he set foot in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. "It is important that Denmark and Europe show their commitment to this territory, which has high strategic value and whose territorial integrity must be respected." The French president directly criticized the interest expressed by Donald Trump in controlling or even annexing Greenland: "I do not believe that is something that should be done among allies".
"Greenland, due to its strategic location in the Arctic and its natural resources, has become a coveted space, the object of predatory ambitions," Macron warned at the press conference at the end of his visit. "Greenland is neither for sale nor for taking," the French president finally proclaimed, announcing his intention to strengthen ties with the island and open a new consulate general in Nuuk.
Just weeks into his second term, Trump expressed interest in Greenland for its natural resources (especially rare earth minerals) and admitted to considering its "acquisition," not ruling out the possible use of force.
A visit by Vice President J.D. Vance in March, criticizing Denmark along the way for the lack of protection and economic neglect of the territory, raised alarms and caused maximum concern about the future of the coveted Arctic island, considered a "constituent nation of the Kingdom of Denmark," with its 57,000 inhabitants and 80% of its territory covered by ice.
The Elysée Palace highlighted Macron's visit as "a signal in itself" and emphasized "the importance of respecting Greenland's sovereignty and territorial integrity". At the recent opening of the UN Ocean Summit in Nice, Macron stressed that "Greenland, Antarctica, and the abysses are not for sale," in a direct reference to Trump's plans to expand mining operations to the last frontier.
The French president aims to emphasize during his visit to the island the importance of "security in the Arctic" in the face of the threat from Russia and within the framework of NATO, as well as the need to strengthen ties with the EU and with initiatives for sustainable development in the region.
According to the most recent polls, support for Greenland's independence has increased considerably in the last decade, although natives express serious reservations about closer ties with Washington, which has a military base on the island (Pittufik).
The territory's Prime Minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, a former badminton player who took office in April and leads a coalition of four parties, has reiterated that Greenland "is not for sale" and has criticized Trump's maneuvers as "a threat to our political independence."