Following his call for Europe to maintain diplomatic distance from both the US and China, French President Emmanuel Macron begins a state visit to the Netherlands on Tuesday. He will address the Dutch Nexus institute in The Hague on the topic of European security and economic sovereignty.
In a weekend interview, just after his visit to Beijing, President Macron said that Europe must work towards "economic security" independently of both China and the United States.
Europe, the French leader stressed, "must not depend on others" in crucial sectors such as energy, artificial intelligence and the control of social media.
Macron is clearly fed up with the bi-polar worldview.
Europeans must cease to think of themselves as followers of either Beijing or Washington, the French president said. European defence must rely less on the Americans.
But he did not explain how the Europeans might have managed in Ukraine without the 70 billion euros in equipment and emergency finance provided by Washington.
At least one European is unhappy about lining up behind Macron. The alliance with the United States is "an absolute foundation" of European security, Poland's prime minister said on Tuesday.
Mateusz Morawiecki, speaking before boarding a plane to begin a US visit, said his country's EU presidency in 2025 would make the partnership with Washington its "main priority".
"The alliance with the United States is an absolute foundation of our security which is based on two pillars: economic cooperation and in the field of defence," said Morawiecki.
Taking a soft line on Taiwan
In his weekend interview, Macron also distanced himself from nationalist Taiwan, saying Europe must avoid becoming entangled in "crises that are not ours".
The influential Wall Street Journal writes that Macron has blundered and is undermining US-led deterrence against China.
Paris dailyLe Figaro wonders if Emmanuel Macron is not repeating with Xi Jinping on the question of Taiwan the error the French president made with Vladimir Putin just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Emmanuel Macron has completely misunderstood the situation, says political analyst Antoine Bondaz. Macron "puts all the blame for the tension on the United States," according to Bondaz, "forgetting that China's ambition is to take control of Taiwan, destabilise the global order."
Macron is playing into Beijing's hands by suggesting that France would remain neutral in the case of a crisis in the Taiwan strait.
Paris-based news site Mediapart says Xi rolled out the red carpet for Macron last week, and the French leader tripped over it.
Washington insists that all is well
Officially, all is well with Washington.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the Biden administration remains "comfortable and confident in the terrific bilateral relationship we have with France."
Kirby pointed to President Joe Biden's personal relationship with Macron and said the two countries are "working together on so many different issues," including naval operations in the Asia-Pacific.
Washington and Paris are partners in "a concerted effort by all of us in this vast alliance, this network of alliances and partnerships," Kirby said.
But the New York Times says Macron is undermining US efforts to contain the authoritarian regime of President Xi Jinping.
From "unhelpful" to "worrying" to "dangerous," the words used in the American press to qualify the French leader's geopolitical view are far from positive.
"Mister Macron wants the United States to rush to Europe's aid against Russian aggression," says the Wall Strreet Journal. "But he seems to be taking a vow of neutrality in the face of Chinese sabre-rattling in the Pacific. Merci, monsieur."
