French President Emmanuel Macron does not want to be a follower of the United States. "We don't want to enter into a bloc vs. bloc logic," Macron declared in an exclusive interview with the media outlet Les Echosduring his official visit to China.
According to the president, the solution for Europe not to be a mere "vassal" is to strengthen its independence. He wants it to be "the 'third pole' in the face of the United States and China," in the words of the French newspaper.
On the Taiwan crisis, the French leader stated that Europe must find its "own rhythm." "The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans should be followers on this issue and adapt to the American pace and a Chinese overreaction. Why should we go at the pace chosen by others? At some point, we have to ask ourselves what is in our interest."
He also claimed that Europeans have no credibility to say that they will intervene if a war breaks out in Taiwan, as reported by Politico in the same interview. In his opinion, if they cannot even resolve the current war in Europe between Ukraine and Russia, they won't be able to do much in Asia.
When asked about the Chinese Communist Party's position on the Russian invasion, Macron replied that he was not sure it was a priority issue for China. He said both China and the West were viewing the situation in a similar way: It's "military time," not time to negotiate.
Military and monetary independence
The French leader also acknowledged that Europe has increased its energy and military dependence since the beginning of the war. He said the EU's objective, now, was to promote its own arms industry in order to be independent from Washington and Beijing's decisions.
Another area where he considered that the European Union must reduce its dependence on the United States is monetary. In other words, Europe should not depend on the dollar. On the other hand, he considers it worthwhile to collaborate with China, especially in the financing of developing economies.
Protests continue in France
The Cotam Unité - the name of the French presidential plane - landed in Paris after Macron's tour of Asia. The city is still gripped by protests following the approval of the unpopular pension reform. With approval at historic lows and showing no signs of budging, Macron will face another general protest next Thursday, April 13.
