France, Canada call for solidarity among middle powers to counter great powers’ threat

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, global leaders responded sharply to US President Donald Trump’s renewed interest in acquiring Greenland and annexing Canada, calling for unity among middle powers to resist pressures from the great powers.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the world faces “instability and imbalances” and stressed that the solution lies in building “bridges and more cooperation with emerging countries, the BRICS and the G20”, warning that fragmentation will only deepen global uncertainty. (India is a member of both BRICS and the G20.)

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney echoed the call for solidarity among middle powers, saying, “If you are not at the table, you’re on the menu.” He cautioned that unlike middle powers, the great powers can now act independently. With a note of grim realism, Carney described the moment as a “breaking of the world order, the end of a pleasant fiction and the beginning of a brutal reality where the geopolitics of the great powers is not subject to any constraint.” Without naming Trump or the US directly, he said, “We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.”

The Trump administration has threatened to impose a 10 per cent tariff next month on France and seven other countries supporting Denmark against the US demand to sell Greenland, with plans to raise the tariff to 25 per cent in June. Trump has openly said he wants to buy Greenland and has not ruled out military action.

European Union president Ursula von der Leyen warned that Trump’s moves risk plunging the world into “a dangerous downward spiral” that could benefit adversaries both Europe and the US are committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape.

US officials in Davos sought to downplay tensions. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent likened the latest tariff threats to the massive tariffs announced in April, framing them as a precursor to negotiations. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer called the Greenland tariff threat a “negotiation ploy” but emphasised that Trump’s expectations are clear.

Macron, however, criticised the US for aiming “to weaken and subordinate Europe” through tariffs and warned that “the rules-based order is fading”. He also highlighted the strategic challenges posed by China, citing “massive excess capacities and distortive practices” that threaten entire industrial sectors, and pointed to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine as another source of global instability.

On Greenland, Macron affirmed Europe’s commitment to sovereignty and international law. Recalling the shared sacrifices of World War II, he said France and its allies have opted to participate in a cooperative exercise in Greenland, “without threatening anyone, but supporting an ally and another European country, Denmark”.

In his address, Macron emphasised that the antidote to global tensions is “more cooperation”, urging middle powers to work together to counter the growing influence and unilateral actions of the great powers.

With IANS inputs