DOminique de Villepin made his name with a memorable speech to the UN Security Council in February 2003, before the US attack led by Iraq. De Villepin, the Minister of Foreign French, in effect signed a sign of France’s intent to make a The UN resolution allowing the war, forcing the US and the UK to act unilaterally. He warned that Washington’s approach would lead to chaos in the Middle East and undermine international institutions. The prophetic plea was met with applause, a rare event in the Security Council room. This led to the integration of a career diplomat as a character in David Hare’s 2004 Anti-War Play, things were happening.
Today the veteran businessman, who has warned about the dangers of excessive reliance in Europe for many years before it became a major opinion in Paris or Berlin, has returned to advice on how to respond to the most serious deterioration in European relations in the US in 80 years.
As Donald Trump avoids American’s oldest allies at a distressing speed, European leaders have scrambled to fix the new, chaotic worldwide. But de Vilepin believes there is also an opportunity for Europe to unite behind the liberal democracy and fill the vacuum left by the Trump administration. He is convinced that there is an urgent need for European independence in defense, national security and technology.
It is a reflection of European alarm that Paris, for the last month, has been motivated to visit diplomats, premiers and state heads. On Monday Emmanuel Macron became the first European leader to the White House since Trump returned to power. But Macron also gathered with the leaders of the world to discuss the potential new coalition of countries who wanted to step up to dull the consequences of Trump’s realignment in Ukraine and his apparent readiness to leave liberal democracy.
Trump’s alien policy is unpredictable, but he is now appearing next to Russia in Ukraine. Although Macron was in the White House trying to saving transatlantic ties, the US voted in Russia against an UN resolution condemning Vladimir Putin’s war. North Korea and Belarus are only among some countries that follow the US.
“We have three Illiberal superpowers: Russia, China and the US,” De Vilepin said. “America can no longer be considered an European allies.” But he warns that the US has not thrives in this chaos, the survival of the-great world it created, “because they are completely isolated”.
He saw the authority of Trump’s authority as both crisis and an opportunity for Europe to unite behind a new common goal. “The consequence of this is an awakening in Europe of Democracy. We will fight for liberal democracy than before. Because the question now is really: sovereignty or submission.”
Achieving European sovereignty is logical, but how can we get there? De Villepin suggests a three-point plan for a more assertive and independent continent. The first step is to develop a common defense in Europe, with a significant assistance to the European defense industry. “We have to build our own systems, and not just buy from the US.” The second is to increase investment in change and tech, as outlined by last year’s Draghi report, which warns of an “agonizing denial” for Europe in the absence of a € 800bn annual boosting of spending. The third step is to strengthen Franco-British cooperation in defense, intelligence, nuclear and Ukraine issues, where de Vilepin wants to see Clear security guarantee in case there is an agreement and a stop.
“We need to take our fate in our own hands,” he said. “Stopped believing in illusions. Trump abandoned Ukraine and [Elon] Musk supports extremist movements in Europe because they want a weaker EU. They understand that Europe is now the main obstacle for their vision. And this is, of course, unacceptable. “
Does he support European of Ukraine – including French – allies that put boots on the ground to protect against a Russian attack? “As part of an agreed peacekeeping plan of the international community, I will support a contribution to France.”
Back in 2003, De Vilepin’s uncontrollable speech was delivered to a similar low point in transatlantic relations, with American neoconservatives named French fries “Freedom Fries” while news organizations labeled France and other European countries that contradict Iraq an “Axis of Weasels”.
His challenge to the US by George Bush, drawn to the painful history of the war that supports the Transatlantic Alliance, remains relevant to 2025. “This message has come to you today from an old country, France, from an old continent such as mine, Europe, with prominent wars, jobs and barbarity,” he said to the opponents of 2003. And yet never stopped standing upright before history and before mankind. Faithful in its values, it wants to act with all members of the international community. “
The rumors of a de Vilepin Run for élysée in 2027 were moving to French media. He remains coy about an ambition of the president. Clearly, however, he thinks the next wave of national election throughout Europe will be decided by national security and interacting with foreigners such as domestic issues. “National security is the most important issue for voters, because it is about freedom, values, whether we believe in sovereignty or submission.”
This seems to be the righteousness behind his return to public life – not just as a potential President’s French candidate, but as an unofficial speaker for what he calls “European sovereignty”. He used the phrase six times in our 90-minute conversation. “In my background, my opposition to the Iraq War and all my experiences in dealing with geopolitical crises, I felt lost voices speaking for European defense, the defense of our values, so it was my duty to speak.”
De Villepin belonged to a long tradition of French politicians who were skeptical of the global supreme -high -American high -American high -ups, and is now feeling proven. But he does not push a dogmatic anti-Americanism. He has a close touch with the US, It studies there, and emphasizes his respect for the soft power of America, its universities, the culture of its change. “They give that for amazing -amazing idea of the whole power. They don’t care about history. You can’t win the one who is alone.”
He hopes that mass protests against Trump will appear throughout the US once his policies failure become apparent. He predicted, like most economists, that trade tariffs would lead to inflation and disappearance, and Trump’s “reckless” policy would make the country a weaker. “This is always a problem for nationalists and populations. My so -called principle of truth.”
The problem, I suggest, is that the farthest right is at war with reality, and it seems to have won – at least in the US. In last year’s presidential election, Trump won a popular vote with a small margin of 1.5 percent points nationwide, but he won an average of 54 points in “News Deserts”, where some serious local media outlets were available, according to a study from Northwestern University.
De Vilepin saw this as an urgent call to develop the European tech industry and encourage independence from US platforms. “Elon Musk wants a complete vassalization of Europe and European media. So this is a question of our main freedom, and our freedom to think about what we want to think. We need to develop our own tools, if it’s LLM [large language models]Social platforms or cloud tech. We need to understand that this is a state of emergency. “
Prior to the general German election on February 23, Musk campaigned for the far right of the AFD, but had less impact than he expected. The party voted at about 20% when the Musk embraced it and ended with 20.8% of the vote. De Villepin does not believe that a Musk intervention in favor of the far right will be successful in France, either. “Oh, this would be the surerest way to lose Le Pen, if Elon Musk came here to campaign him.”
Jordan Bardella, the National President of the National Rally Party of the Marine Le Pen, canceled a trip to a rightwing conference in the US after former Trump Aide Steve Bannon made what appears to be a salute to the Nazi at the event.
De Villepin foretold that Le Pen would try to be with a distance between himself and Trump’s swelling, but he insisted that they were twins. “He is close to Russia. Close to these ideas. Anti-globalization, anti-immigration, anti-multiculturalism. So they are completely linked.”
His own path to a potential presidential candidate can be filled with barriers and contradictions. As a pro-Palestinian, moderate conservative Gaullist, he can insist on passing the first rotation. But he clearly sees a political future in which his foreign policy experience is leading the immediate reminders of the home.
So far, he says, European nationalists can assemble, as they did recently in Madrid, named Trump and promise to “redo Europe” – but soon, he believes, Trump will be a toxic brand in Europe. “This is an opportunity for Europe to be the voice of stability,” he said. “As such, we know the consequences of nationalism of the authority.”
