France warns Trump over military threats to take control of Greenland

RFI

8 January 2025 at 9:35 am·1-min read

A plane carrying Donald Trump Jr lands in Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, 7 January 2025.

France warned the United States on Wednesday against threatening European Union sovereignty after president-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out military action to take control of Greenland.

The European Union will not tolerate threats to its borders, France's foreign minister said, as tensions rose over Trump's comments about the Arctic territory, which is an autonomous part of EU member Denmark.

"There is obviously no question that the European Union would let other nations of the world attack its sovereign borders, whoever they are," Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio.

"We are a strong continent."

Greenland push

Trump first expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, an autonomous territory of EU member Denmark, in 2019 when he cancelled a trip to Copenhagen after Denmark’s prime minister dismissed the idea of its purchase as “absurd”.

Trump’s most recent comments came during a press conference where he was asked whether he would commit to avoiding economic or military action to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal.

"No, I can't assure you on either of those two. But I can say this, we need them for economic security," Trump said.

He later took to his platform, Truth Social, to elaborate on his intentions.

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Greenland push

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