Macron says Canada ’51st country’ threatens example of US rejecting allies – National
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday cited U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to make Canada the “51st country” as an example of American foreign policy that sacrifices allies by “the rule of the fittest.”
Macron’s harsh words were accompanied by similar comments by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in a separate speech that showed the growing concern of European leaders as Trump seeks to impose US dominance over the Western Hemisphere, including actions in Venezuela and threats that the US may take over Greenland.
In his speech to French ambassadors at the Élysée presidential palace on Thursday, Macron said, “It is the biggest chaos, the rule of the powerful, and everyday people are wondering if Greenland will be attacked, if Canada will be under the threat of becoming the 51st state (of the United States) or if Taiwan will be surrounded again.”
The United States is “gradually turning its back on some of its rivals and freeing itself from international law,” Macron said.
This comment seems to be the first time that Macron has directly addressed Trump’s threats against Canadian sovereignty, which the US president did not raise for a few weeks after saying it several times last year.
However, the former ambassador of the United Nations in Canada, Bob Rae, and other experts have warned that Trump’s recent behavior suggests that Canada is “on the menu” of his plans in the hemisphere when taken with the “51st district” speech.
Macron’s speech referred to recent US actions, including the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last weekend, and Trump’s national security strategy that sees America as a superpower.
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The comments come amid growing concern about Trump’s plans for Greenland. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet with Danish officials next week.
Macron joined Prime Minister Mark Carney and other European leaders on Tuesday in defending Greenland’s sovereignty after Trump’s comments about how the US “needs” the sovereign territory of Denmark, which is part of the NATO military alliance.
The Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday said Carney spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about “their mutual support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark, including Greenland, which must be respected in accordance with international law.”
“Prime Minister Carney reaffirmed that the future of Greenland is for Greenland and Denmark to decide,” read the interview. The two leaders also discussed Ukraine and efforts to strengthen the Arctic and “Euro-Atlantic security.”
The world must not become a ‘cave of robbers,’ warns the German president
Separately, Steinmeier, delivering his speech at a conference in Germany late Wednesday, said that Trump’s actions and comments show that the world’s democracy is under attack like never before.
Describing Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a watershed, Steinmeier said the United States’ behavior represented a second historic breakthrough.
“Then there was the collapse of values by our most important partner, the USA, which helped build this world system,” he said.
“It’s about preventing the world from turning into a den of pirates, where the most naive take whatever they want, when regions or entire countries are treated as the property of a few superpowers,” he said.
Although the role of the German president is largely ceremonial, his words carry some weight and he has more freedom of expression than politicians.
The speeches of Macron and Steinmeier are the rise of European leaders who reacted quickly to the capture of Maduro, who wanted all parties to respect international law without directly criticizing the US.
Experts previously told Global News that world leaders may be hoping not to anger the “White House” amid ongoing trade and security talks.
On Thursday, a poll by public broadcaster ARD revealed that 76 percent of Germans polled now feel that the United States is not a partner Germany can rely on, an increase of three percentage points since June 2025.
Only 15 percent felt that Germany could now trust the United States, the lowest level recorded in a general survey of attitudes.
In contrast, almost three-quarters felt they could trust France and Britain.
The survey found 69 percent of Germans worried about security in Europe, about the same number who thought that NATO allies could not rely on the protection of the United States, the alliance’s most powerful member.
-via files from the Associated Press and Reuters
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
