The French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced tonight that his Army will begin a series of joint military exercises with Denmark in and has assured that the first troops are already on their way to this autonomous Danish territory that .
“At the request of Denmark, I have decided that France will participate in joint exercises organized by Denmark in Greenland, Operation Arctic Endurance (‘Opération Endurance Arctique’). The first French military elements are already on the way. Others will follow,” Macron posted on his X account.
Previously, sources from the French Ministry of Defense had already announced that the country would join a European military mission in Greenland. Macron has called a Defense Council early on Thursday to study the situation on the island, but also what is happening in Iran, Elysée sources told EFE.
The French announcement adds to those made throughout Wednesday by, who have indicated that they will send officers to Greenland to jointly study possible ways to cooperate to increase security in the region. “At the invitation of Denmark, Germany will participate with other European nations between January 15 and 17 in a reconnaissance activity in Greenland,” the German Ministry reported.
Trump’s remarks have thrown the decades-old U.S.-led European security alliance into crisis by raising the prospect of NATO’s largest and most powerful member annexing another’s territory.
Denmark, responsible for the defense of Greenland, warned that an attack on Greenland would virtually wipe out NATO and announced Wednesday that it was expanding its military presence “in close cooperation with NATO allies.”
Solidarity necessary
It is not unusual for NATO countries to send troops to train in other NATO countries, and for years allies, including the United States, have pushed to intensify joint exercises in the Arctic Circle. The United States has about 150 soldiers stationed at its Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland.
But both the timing and the symbolism of the latest announcements from European nations are a significant show of solidarity at a time of unprecedented tension within NATO.
Trump has been extremely explicit about his ambitions to take control of the world’s largest island, even by force if necessary, saying he was “going to do something in Greenland whether you like it or not,” during a press conference with oil executives on Friday.
Disturbing meeting
Yesterday, representatives from the United States, Denmark and Greenland discussed the future of the island, beyond the creation of a working group to address “fundamental disagreements.”
The Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, and the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, received the Danish Foreign Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, at the White House, but after a meeting of approximately 50 minutes, the Danish authorities confirmed that the positions remain opposed due to President Donald Trump’s desire to annex the Arctic territory.
The European country considers any proposal that does not respect the territorial integrity of Greenland – an autonomous territory of Denmark – and the right of self-determination of the Greenlandic people to be totally unacceptable.
This Wednesday, before the meeting, he expressed on the Truth Social platform that with Greenland in the “hands” of the United States, NATO will be much more effective and added that any other option is “unacceptable.”
Hours before the diplomatic meeting, the Danish Ministry of Defense announced an immediate increase in its military presence in Greenland and maneuvers in this autonomous Danish territory, in collaboration with its NATO allies, due to the increase in tensions in the Arctic.
In recent days, the Secretary General of NATO, , had already advanced the need to reinforce the allied presence on the Arctic island, while several European countries, such as Germany and the United Kingdom, had pointed out the possibility of using this formula to appease Trump’s alleged concern about the security of Greenland vis-à-vis Russia and China, an argument he puts forward to justify the need for an annexation.
