Macron Visits Greenland to Show European Solidarity After Trump Annexation Threats

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he was visiting Greenland to show French and European Union solidarity with the Arctic island after US President Donald Trump’s threats to take it over.
Asked about those threats as he arrived in Greenland, Macron said: “I don’t think that’s what allies do … it’s important that Denmark and the Europeans commit themselves to this territory, which has very high strategic stakes and whose territorial integrity must be respected.”
Greenland is a self-governing part of Denmark with the right to declare independence. Both the Greenland and Danish governments say it is not for sale and only Greenlanders can determine their future.
Trump has said he wants the United States to take over the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island, and has not ruled out force. His vice president, JD Vance, visited a US military base there in March.
Macron, the first foreign leader to visit Greenland since Trump’s explicit threats to “get” the island, was invited by the prime ministers of Greenland and Denmark. He has said his visit is meant to prevent any “preying” on the territory.
“France has stood by us since the first statements about taking our land emerged. This support is both necessary and gratifying,” Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen wrote on Facebook days ahead of Macron’s visit.
“I’m not worried that he (Trump) will be furious. It should be seen as us wanting to create more development in Greenland,” Nielsen told Danish broadcaster DR on Sunday when asked if he believed Macron’s visit would upset the US president.