leaders, 26 May 2017 in
N'Djamena, December 2018
Algeria In 2017, Macron described
France's colonization of
Algeria as a "
crime against humanity". He also said: "It's truly barbarous and it's part of a past that we need to confront by apologizing to those against whom we committed these acts." Polls following his remarks reflected a decrease in his support.
Libya Macron described the
2011 military intervention in Libya as a "historic error".
Middle East In January 2017, he said France needed a more "balanced" policy toward
Syria, including talks with
Bashar al-Assad. In April 2017, following the
chemical attack in Khan Shaykhun, Macron proposed a possible military intervention against the Assad regime, preferably under United Nations auspices. He has warned if the Syrian regime uses chemical weapons during his presidency he will act unilaterally to punish it. In May 2018, Macron condemned "the violence of Israeli armed forces" against Palestinians in
Gaza border protests. However, in October 2023, he announced proposals "to prevent an escalation, free hostages, guarantee Israel's security and work towards a two-state solution". Macron has voiced support for the
Saudi Arabian-led military campaign against Yemen's
Shiite rebels. He also defended France's
arms sales to the Saudi-led coalition. Some rights groups have argued that France is violating national and
international law by selling weapons to members of the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.
North Korea Macron has called for a peaceful solution during the
2017 North Korea crisis, though he agreed to work with US President Trump against North Korea. Macron and Trump apparently conducted a phone call on 12 August 2017 where they discussed confronting North Korea, denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and enforcing new sanctions.
Myanmar Macron condemned the
persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. He described the situation as "genocide" and "ethnic purification", and alluded to the prospect of UN-led intervention.
China In response to the death of Chinese
Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Liu Xiaobo, who died of organ failure while in government custody, Macron praised Liu as "a freedom fighter". Macron also described as "extremely fruitful and positive" his first contacts with
General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping.
Armenia In 2019, Macron announced that France would designate April 24 as a
national day of remembrance for the
Armenian genocide. After the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Macron pledged to supply defense equipment to Armenia, as well as humanitarian aid of 29 million euros to
displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. He is also in support of the
International Court of Justice's decision on November 17, 2023, of which calls on the rights of ethnic Armenian residents to return safely to their homeland.
Turkey Macron expressed concerns over Turkey's "rash and dangerous" statements regarding the
2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war between the armed forces of
Azerbaijan and
Armenia, further stating that he was "extremely concerned by the warlike messages". He also said: "A red line has been crossed, which is unacceptable. I urge all NATO partners to face up to the behaviour of a NATO member."
European Union announced they had reached an
EU–Mercosur Free Trade Agreement in Paris, 3 June 2022 An article in the
New York Times described Emmanuel Macron as "ardently pro-Europe" and stated that he "has proudly embraced an unpopular European Union." Macron has been described by some as
Europhile and
federalist but he describes himself as "neither pro-European, eurosceptic nor a federalist in the classical sense", and his party as "the only pro-European political force in France". In June 2015, Macron and his German counterpart
Sigmar Gabriel published a platform advocating a continuation of European integration. They advocated the continuation "of structural reforms (such as labor markets), institutional reforms (including the area of economic governance)." On 1 May 2017, Macron said the EU needed to reform or face
Frexit. On 26 September, he unveiled his proposals for the EU, intending to deepen the bloc politically and harmonize its rules. He argued for institutional changes, initiatives to promote EU, along with new ventures in the technology, defence and energy sectors. His proposals also included setting up a
rapid reaction force working along with national armies while establishing a
finance minister,
budget and parliament for the Eurozone. He also called for a new tax on technology giants, an EU-wide asylum agency to deal with the refugee crisis, and changes to the
Common Agricultural Policy. On 16 June 2017, after meeting with Spanish Prime Minister
Mariano Rajoy in Madrid, Macron stated, about
2017 Catalan independence referendum that "my partner and friend is all of Spain and my interlocutor is Mariano Rajoy". Following the referendum on 1 October and the favorable outcome for independence, Macron called Rajoy to convey his commitment to the "constitutional unity of Spain". On 10 October, the same day that Catalan President
Carles Puigdemont suspended the declaration of independence, Macron flatly rejected a possible European mediation of the
constitutional crisis and called for a peaceful resolution. Following the
declaration of independence by Catalonia on 27 October, Macron joined the EU in supporting Spanish prime minister
Mariano Rajoy. In a conversation with BBC's
Andrew Marr, Macron stated that theoretically if France should choose to withdraw from the EU, it would do so through a national
popular vote. In November 2019, Macron blocked EU accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia, proposing changes to the EU Enlargement policy. In an interview with
The Economist, Macron said that the EU was too reliant on NATO and the US, and that it should initiate "strategic dialogue" with Russia. After the European elections in 2019, it was Macron in particular who prevented the leading candidate of the European People's Party,
Manfred Weber, from becoming president of the European Commission. Previously it had been a tradition that the top candidate of the largest party always took over this post. Critics accused Macron of having by his actions ignored the democratic decision of the voters for political reasons, sacrificing democratic principles for his own interests.
Greece In July 2015, as economy minister, Macron stated in an interview that any bailout package for Greece must also ease its burden by including reductions in the country's overall debt. In July 2015, while challenging the "loaded question" of the
2015 Greek referendum, Macron called for resisting the "automatic ejection" of Greece from the Eurozone and avoiding "the
Versailles Treaty of the Eurozone", in which case the "No" side would win. He believed that the Greek and European leaders co-produced the Greek government-debt crisis, and that the agreement reached in summer 2015 between Greece and its creditors, notably driven by François Hollande, would not help Greece deal with its debt, and at the same time criticized the
International Monetary Fund. In June 2016, he criticized the austerity policies imposed on Greece as unsustainable, and called for the joint establishment of "fiscal and financial solidarity mechanisms" and a mechanism for restructuring the debt of Eurozone member states.
Others at the
St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on 24 May 2018 in Paris, 12 April 2019 in Washington, D.C., 1 December 2022 at the
White House, Washington, D.C., 24 February 2025 In 2012, Macron was a Young Leader with the
French-American Foundation. He criticized the Franco-Swiss construction firm
LafargeHolcim for competing to
build the wall on the
Mexico–United States border promised by U.S. President Donald Trump. President Macron has supported
NATO and its role in the security of eastern European states and also pressure on NATO partners like
Poland to uphold what he called "European values". He said in April 2017 that "in the three months after I'm elected, there will be a decision on Poland. You cannot have a European Union which argues over every single decimal place on the issue of budgets with each country, and which, when you have an EU member which acts like Poland or Hungary on issues linked to universities and learning, or
refugees, or fundamental values, decides to do nothing." Polish Foreign Minister
Witold Waszczykowski said in response that Macron "violated European standards and the principles of friendship with Poland". During a press conference with Vladimir Putin at the Palace of Versailles in May 2017, he condemned the Russian state media as "lying propaganda". The same month, he said: "we all know who Le Pen's allies are. The regimes of Orbán, Kaczyński, Putin. These aren't the regimes with an open and free democracy. Every day they break many democratic freedoms." Macron has said that the European Commission needs to do more to stop the influx of low-paid temporary workers from
Central and Eastern Europe into France.
Immigration Macron supported the open-door policy toward
migrants from the Middle East and Africa pursued by Angela Merkel in Germany during the 2017 election campaign and promoted tolerance towards immigrants and Muslims. However, he later stated that France could "not hold everyone" and cited migration as a major concern of voters. New migration measures were introduced which toughened controls on asylum and fixed quotas for foreign workers. However, he believes that
Frontex (the European Border and Coast Guard Agency) is "not a sufficiently ambitious program" and has called for more investment in coast and border guards, "because anyone who enters [Europe] at
Lampedusa or elsewhere is a concern for all European countries". Italian PM
Giuseppe Conte accused France of hypocrisy after Macron said Italy was acting "irresponsibly" by refusing entry to migrants and suggested it had violated international maritime law. Italy's deputy PM
Luigi Di Maio said: "I am happy the French have discovered responsibility . . . they should open their ports and we will send a few people to France." In advance of the
2024 French legislative election, Macron denounced the
New Popular Front for its "totally immigrationist" program which he alleged would "abolish all laws controlling immigration" in the event of victory.
Security and terrorism Macron believed that the proposed reform bill on deprivation of citizenship for French-born and naturalized citizens convicted on terrorism charges was not a "concrete solution" and believed that "the endless prolongation of the
state of emergency raises legitimate questions". He advocated an increase in state funding of intelligence agencies. Macron called for a restoration of
community policing and considered that "the management of some major risks must be delegated to the associations or the private sector". He considered that his proposal to provide each young adult a "Culture Pass" of €500 might encourage young people to discover the culture of France and deter terrorism. Macron has endorsed proposals to make it mandatory for Internet companies to allow the government to access encrypted communications from customers. Macron expressed deep regret at US President Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. armed forces from Syria. In October 2019, Macron warned that Turkey would be responsible for helping the Islamic State to re-establish a Caliphate in Syria as he called on Turkey to stop its
military offensive against
Kurdish forces in the north of Syria. ==Environment==