{"id":35218,"date":"2024-04-25T13:56:53","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T13:56:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/25\/macron-battling-the-far-right-at-home-pushes-for-a-stronger-europe\/"},"modified":"2024-04-25T13:56:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T13:56:53","slug":"macron-battling-the-far-right-at-home-pushes-for-a-stronger-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/25\/macron-battling-the-far-right-at-home-pushes-for-a-stronger-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Macron, Battling the Far Right at Home, Pushes for a Stronger Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/25\/multimedia\/25france-europe-top-pgtl\/25france-europe-top-pgtl-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Macron, Battling the Far Right at Home, Pushes for a Stronger Europe\" title=\"Macron, Battling the Far Right at Home, Pushes for a Stronger Europe\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Challenged by the extreme right and perhaps more vulnerable than at any time in his presidency, Emmanuel Macron of France sought renewed momentum on Thursday through a sweeping speech on the need for a more assertive Europe, a theme that he has pressed with urgency since Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The nearly two-hour speech reflected Mr. Macron\u2019s conviction that only a reinforced and \u201csovereign\u201d European Union \u2014 a \u201cEurope power,\u201d as he puts it \u2014 can save the continent from strategic irrelevancy in an unstable world that is dominated by the United States and China and confronting wars in Europe and the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe must be lucid about the fact that our Europe is mortal,\u201d Mr. Macron declared before an audience of government ministers, European ambassadors and other dignitaries. \u201cIt can die. It can die and whether it does depends entirely on our choices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The speech, at the Sorbonne University in Paris, was a follow-up to one that Mr. Macron gave in the same location <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/09\/28\/world\/europe\/france-macron-european-union-reforms.html?searchResultPosition=3\" title=\"\">in September 2017<\/a>. Then, Mr. Macron discussed the future of Europe and the European Union as a young, recently elected and disruptive president still enjoying a political honeymoon. Today, without an absolute majority in Parliament, and with his popularity falling after seven years in office, he has become a divisive figure and has struggled over the past two years to give direction to his second term.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Coming less than two months before elections to the European Parliament on June 9, Mr. Macron\u2019s decision to speak out was widely seen as a bid to boost his centrist Renaissance party, which is placing second in <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/elections\/europeennes\/europeennes-glucksmann-et-hayer-retrouvent-des-couleurs-decouvrez-le-sondage-du-figaro-du-24-avril-20240424\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the latest polls<\/a> behind the far-right National Rally party led by Jordan Bardella.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Macron described a world at \u201ca turning point,\u201d in which a Europe that could no longer depend on America for its security, on Russia for its energy and on China for its industrial production must become more strategically autonomous, technologically innovative and militarily resilient.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe are too slow and not ambitious enough,\u201d he said, proposing that only through \u201cpower, prosperity and humanism\u201d could Europe set out a distinctive model for the world. It should \u201cnever be a vassal of the United States,\u201d he said, without making any radically new proposals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There have been significant advances toward greater European integration since Mr. Macron\u2019s first speech, which was in some ways prescient. The Covid pandemic saw Germany <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/05\/18\/world\/europe\/coronavirus-european-union-fund.html?searchResultPosition=2\" title=\"\">break a longstanding taboo<\/a> and back the issuing of European joint debt, and the war in Ukraine has spurred <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/02\/14\/world\/europe\/europe-nato-trump-ukraine.html?searchResultPosition=11\" title=\"\">increased European spending<\/a> on defense, something Mr. Macron has long called for to reduce reliance on American military power.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But, always impatient with what he considers lazy thinking, as when he described NATO as suffering from \u201cbrain death\u201d in 2019 because it had not adjusted to a changed world, Mr. Macron has also irked some of his European partners with his bold declarations. Not everyone in Europe is convinced that it is Mr. Macron\u2019s role to lead the 27-member union to a different future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Recently, the always difficult relationship between Mr. Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/09\/world\/europe\/macron-scholz-russia-ukraine-aid.html?searchResultPosition=3\" title=\"\">has been roiled by differences<\/a> over the war in Ukraine and how to manage the United States. Mr. Scholz was incensed by Mr. Macron\u2019s recent suggestion that the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine could not be ruled out, a statement the president said on Thursday that he \u201cstands by absolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe essential condition of our security is that Russia not win its war of aggression against Ukraine,\u201d Mr. Macron said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Macron reiterated his support for the creation of a European \u201crapid deployment\u201d force of about 5,000 military personnel, which was <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/thinktank\/en\/document\/EPRS_ATA(2023)747090\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">outlined by the E.U. in 2022<\/a> as a way to respond to external crises. It is expected to be fully operational in 2025. He also expressed support for the creation of a \u201cEuropean military academy\u201d to improve coordination between European armies. E.U. member states, he said, should prioritize buying European military equipment over foreign materiel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">These are familiar themes from the president, who has struggled to overcome an image of aloofness. It was far from clear that his lofty visions, at a time of economic difficulty for many French people, would do anything to dent the popularity of Mr. Bardella, the far right\u2019s 28-year-old prodigal son.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The longtime barrier against the far right coming to power, built around the broad conviction that the National Front (now the National Rally) was a danger to the republic, has collapsed as the party has become the largest single opposition force in Parliament.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cOur opponent in this European election is Emmanuel Macron, and I am telling French people that what we have to achieve on June 9 is set limits for the president of the republic,\u201d Mr. Bardella said in a televised appearance on Thursday, before Mr. Macron\u2019s speech. Mr. Bardella\u2019s themes \u2014 anti-immigration rhetoric, the need for greater security and the fight against inflation \u2014 have resonated with an anxious France.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Bardella is the prot\u00e9g\u00e9 of Marine Le Pen, the perennial far-right candidate for the presidency. His popularity has increased the chances that she may succeed Mr. Macron, who is term-limited, in 2027, or even that he become a presidential candidate himself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Clearly taking aim at the extreme right, Mr. Macron said that \u201cliberal democracy is not a given&#8221; and that the rule of law, an independent press, free universities, the rights of minorities and the separation of powers were being \u201cdenied\u201d in too many European countries. He celebrated Poland as an example of an E.U. member <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/12\/13\/world\/europe\/donald-tusk-poland-eu.html\" title=\"\">turning its back on illiberalism,<\/a> after its recent election that saw a centrist victory over the governing nationalist party.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Macron also said that he hoped to see the right to abortion enshrined in the European Union\u2019s charter of fundamental rights; France last month became the first country in the world <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/04\/world\/europe\/france-abortion-rights-constitution.html?searchResultPosition=1\" title=\"\">to protect access to abortion in its Constitution<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Aides to Mr. Macron insisted that the Sorbonne was not a campaign stop, arguing that Mr. Macron wanted to influence the European Union\u2019s overarching <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/policies\/strategic-agenda-2024-2029\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">strategic agenda<\/a> for the next five years, which is expected to be decided by E.U. leaders after the June elections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Speaking on condition of anonymity, in line with French government practice, they said that the crises that have gripped the world since his first speech in 2017 demonstrated that Mr. Macron was right in his insistence that Europe needs to be the master of its own destiny by shaking off technological and industrial dependencies, especially on China and the United States.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Anxiety is widespread in Europe that the American presidential election in November could result in a victory for former President Donald J. Trump, whose \u201cAmerica First\u201d program and skepticism over NATO have increased concerns over European military and strategic dependency on the United States. For Mr. Macron, these developments have been a form of vindication of his seven-year-old warnings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/25\/world\/europe\/france-macron-far-right-eu.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Challenged by the extreme right and perhaps more vulnerable than at any time in his presidency, Emmanuel Macron of France sought renewed momentum on Thursday through a sweeping speech on the need for a more assertive Europe, a theme that he has pressed with urgency since Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The nearly two-hour [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/25\/multimedia\/25france-europe-top-pgtl\/25france-europe-top-pgtl-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6013,896,148,17875,9360,19244],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35218"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35218"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35220,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35218\/revisions\/35220"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}