Emmanuel Macron does not go by four ways: for him, NATO is "in a brain dead state," he said in an interview, published Thursday, November 7 in The Economist, but carried out on October 21 at 'Elysium. The French president, who believes that Europe is "on the precipice" in the current geopolitical context, invites its partners to wake up to maintain control of the continent's destiny.

The disengagement of the United States - which "turns its back on us" - on the international scene forces Europeans to "re-evaluate the reality" of the Atlantic Alliance today, emphasizes Emmanuel Macron. "At some point we will have to take stock of NATO, and what we are experiencing is the brain death of NATO," he says. "NATO as a system does not regulate its members."

It is high time for Europe to "wake up", according to Emmanuel Macron. Read an astonishingly candid interview with France's president https://t.co/bYuTBTgURL pic.twitter.com/z4RMjqqBI7

The Economist (@TheEconomist) November 7, 2019

For the first time, he said about Donald Trump, "we have an American president who does not share the idea of ​​the European project, and US policy is misaligned with this project." "The consequences, we see them in Syria at the moment: the guarantor of last resort, the umbrella that made Europe stronger, no longer has the same relationship with Europe, which is why our defense, our security, the elements of our sovereignty, must be thought of as own, "he judges.

"Let's face it, you have partners who are together in the same region of the globe, and you have no strategic decision from the United States of America with NATO partners," says the French president. the Turkish military offensive in northeastern Syria. "There was no planning or coordination by NATO, there was not even 'deconfliction' by NATO," says Emmanuel Macron.

"What is Article 5 tomorrow ?"

The question arises as to the relevance of article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which presided over the creation of the organization in 1949. Asked whether he believes in the effectiveness of this system, He replies: "I do not know, but what is article 5 tomorrow, that is, if the regime of Bashar al-Assad decides to reply to Turkey (a member of NATO, Editor's note), are we going to engage, that's a real question. "

Article 5 states that "an armed attack against one or more of the parties, occurring in Europe or North America, shall be considered an attack directed against all parties".

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Accordingly, it is written, "they agree that, if such an attack occurs, each of them, in the exercise of the right of self-defense, individual or collective, recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of Nations together, assist the party or parties so attacked ".

"I'm just saying that if we do not have an awakening, an awareness of this situation and a decision to seize it, the risk is great, ultimately, that geopolitically we disappear, or in any case that we let's not be the masters of our destiny, I believe it very deeply ", reaffirms the French president.

This burst, he believes, requires "regaining European sovereignty" and "reopening a strategic dialogue" with Russia.

With Reuters