Michelle Euler/Pool via Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron visits Greenland to meet Greenland and the Danish Prime Minister
Amidst signs of Greenland’s growing importance, French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting the Arctic Island today.
Stepping into the capital city of Nouk this morning, Macron encounters chilly and dull weather, but despite the cold conditions he is greeted with warmth.
“I have to say this is big because we have never had a visit from the president, so we are very welcome,” says veteran Green Lanland official Kazi Kreist.
Nuuk is a small city with less than 20,000 people, and the arrival of world leaders and his aides is a major event.
“I think people are curious and just hearing about it,” says consultant and podcast host Arnakkuluk Jo Kleist. “I think they’ll be interested in what his message will be.”
“He is the president of France, but he is also an important representative of Europe. It is a message from the European countries they are supporting, that Greenland is not on sale, and for the Kingdom of Denmark,” says Arnakkuluk Jo Kleist.
“These last months have raised some questions about what we need and what allies we need to support,” she says.
The French president was the first well-known leader to be invited to Greenland’s new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen. The talks will focus on climate change, economic development and key minerals as well as North Atlantic and Arctic security before Macron continues Canada’s G7 Summit.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen was also present, calling the French president’s visit “another concrete testimony of European unity” in “the difficult foreign policy situation of recent months.”
Roni Rekomaa/Reuters
Jens-Frederik Nielsen meets Emmanuel Macron in the capital, Nuuk
For months, Greenland is a semi-autonomous Danish territory with 56,000 people, under intense pressure as President Donald Trump has repeatedly said it would not rule out the use of the military, primarily due to US security.
“Macron isn’t coming to Greenland just for Greenland, and he’s also part of the bigger game, among these great powers in the world,” says Kreist.
France was one of the first countries to oppose Trump, even offering to deploy the troops that Denmark had declined. Just a few days ago, at the United Nations Marine Conference, Macron emphasized that “the oceans are not for sale, Greenland is not for sale, and the Arctic and other oceans are not for sale.”
“France has supported us ever since the first statement about taking away our country came out,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “It’s necessary and I’m happy.”
Macron’s arrival is a powerful message, says Ulrik Plum Gad, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute of International Studies.
“The Vice President’s couple really couldn’t pull it off,” he says, referring to JD Vance and his wife Usha’s scaled back trip and lack of public involvement in March. “Of course, it sends a message to the American people and Trump.”
Jim Watson/Pool via Reuters
After touring US military Pitafik Space Station in Greenland, US Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Ushavance Commission Air Force 2
Kazi Kreist also hints at our pressure, saying that just as Greenland leaders integrate their relationship with the Denmark and the EU, “we have to have an ally in these issues.”
“I think it’s a good time for Macron to come here,” Kreist added. “They can talk about the defense of the Arctic before a big NATO meeting…and hear what we’re looking for in terms of cooperation and investment.”
However, opposition leader Pere Bloberg believes Greenland should have held bilateral talks with France alone. “We are always welcome world leaders,” he says. Looks like a visit to Denmark. ”
The relationship between the US and Denmark is growing more and more. US Vice President JD Vance scouted Scandinavian countries for not investing in territorial security during his recent trip to a US military base far north of Greenland. Last month, the Danish foreign minister summoned the US ambassador to Copenhagen following a Wall Street Journal report claiming that US spy agencies were told to focus their efforts on Greenland.
Later at a Congressional hearing Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegses appeared to suggest under a tense question that the Pentagon had prepared a “accidental” plan to force Greenland to take away “if necessary.”
However, Denmark stepped carefully. Last week, Congress was spending another $1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) to light the lush bill, allowing US troops to be stationed in Danish soil and boosting Greenland’s defense. A military presence was growing this weekend as Danish naval frigates sailed around Nuku Fjord and helicopters circulated the town.
“Denmark has been reluctant to make this shift towards a more European strategy, as it has a very transatlantic security strategy,” GAD rated, but that has changed over the past few months.
The EU is also strengthening its role as tensions and increasing competition between the global powers of the Arctic. Earlier this month, the trade bloc signed a contract to invest in Greenland graphite mines (metals used in batteries) to compete to secure the supply of critical minerals and energy resources amidst Chinese rule and Russian war in Ukraine.
Through Leiff Josefsen/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP Getty Images
The European Commission’s Ursula von der Leyen opened an EU office in Nuuk last year
For France, the visit to Greenland is tied to policies that aim to increase Europe’s independence from the United States, suggests Marc Jacobsen, an associate professor at the Royal Danish University of Defense.
“This is of course about changing security situations in the North Atlantic and the Arctic,” he explains. “It’s a strong signal. It shows that France takes Europe’s safety seriously.”
