Paris – Jean-Noël Barrot declared, “European civilization will not vanish. However, our political structure faces significant risks today, despite its valuable stability in a volatile world, alongside its vast scientific, technological, cultural, and financial resources.”
The United States’ national security strategy released in December warns that Europe’s economic decline “is overshadowed by the more alarming possibility of a civilizational erasure.”
In response, the French minister asserted, “No, Europe is not on the brink of civilizational erasure, and those who make such presumptuous claims should take heed of their own potential erasure.”
He noted that the European Union is “endangered externally by adversaries attempting to weaken our solidarity” and “internally by a sense of democratic fatigue.”
Barrot cautioned, “Let us be realistic; there is no certainty that we will continue to exist within the European Union as we know it a decade from now.”
He also remarked on the United States, stating, “They are allies, but we do not always see eye to eye.”
The French foreign minister emphasized, “In a few months, the new American administration has chosen, which is its prerogative, to reconsider our relationship. It is equally our right to reject proposals from a historic ally if they are unacceptable and to say no when necessary.” (January 9, 2026)
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