The French president is moving troops there, but would he dare use them against the US?
French land, sea, and air forces are heading for Greenland to rebuff threats of annexation by the US. Emmanuel Macron has vowed to ‘stand alongside’ the Danish dependency, but that promise could end in humiliation for the French president.
What did Macron say?
In an address to the country’s armed forces on Thursday, Macron said that “a first team of French military personnel is already on site” in Greenland, “and will be reinforced in the coming days by land, air and maritime assets.”
These reinforcements will join British, German, Norwegian, and Swedish forces already en route to Greenland to take part in a Danish-led ‘Arctic Endurance’ military exercise.
“France must be available in the face of threats, adapt to them, and stand alongside a sovereign state to protect its territory,” Macron said, adding that Greenland “belongs to the European Union.”
How many troops is he sending?
Macron didn’t say how many troops, vehicles, or pieces of military equipment he would deploy to Greenland. However, France’s ambassador to Poland said on Wednesday that the “first team” of French soldiers already in place in Nuuk numbers only 15 soldiers.
Macron’s European coalition members have sent equally paltry numbers; 13 German reconnaissance specialists, three Swedish officers, one British, and one Norwegian, according to Reuters.
No European nation – including France – seems willing to commit the forces necessary to deter the might of the US military. Even combined with the contingent of Danish troops who arrived overnight by C-130 transport aircraft, the Europeans are outnumbered by the 150 or so American troops already stationed at Pituffik Space Base in northern Greenland.
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