French President Emmanuel Macron has attracted international attention for calling for a ‘reform of the current world order’. He argues that a fairer world is needed to ensure sustainable peace, particularly in Europe.
Macron’s statement comes as tensions over the war in Ukraine continue to dominate world politics.
Speaking at the ‘Imagining Peace’ conference in Paris, Macron called for ‘creativity’ in the search for peace.
He emphasised that Europe needs a new shape to ensure stability and made clear that the continent’s future is not solely in the hands of the EU and NATO.
– We must be imaginative enough to think about the peace of tomorrow, a peace in Europe in a new form, Mr Macron told the Sant’Egidio Assembly.
The President also emphasised that Europe must reconsider its relationship with Russia once the conflict in Ukraine is over. According to him, it is necessary to find a new organisational structure for Europe, beyond the current institutions.
– We try to walk with this European political community but we will have to think of a new form of organization of Europe and rethink our relationship to Russia, Macron added.
Macron’s remarks have attracted a lot of attention internationally.
“Macron’s “pacifist” turn? Yesterday in Paris, at the Sant’Egidio meeting, he spoke of a new, more representative international order, also with the aim of rebuilding the relationship with Russia: “We must be artisans of peace, even when the road is difficult” notes Italian socialist Lucio D’Ubaldo, among others.
Svolta “pacifista” di Macron? Ieri a Parigi, al meeting di Sant’Egidio, ha parlato di un nuovo ordine internazionale più rappresentativo, anche con l’obiettivo di ricostruire il rapporto con la Russia: "Dobbiamo essere artigiani di pace, anche quando la strada è difficile". pic.twitter.com/V2wJj8l0LU
— Lucio D'Ubaldo (@lucioalessio) September 23, 2024
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was quick to react to Macron’s speech, saying that a change in Europe’s security architecture and the international system is inevitable and is currently undergoing significant changes.
– Obviously, as the security architecture of Europe is changing by leaps and bounds, it is necessary to build it anew. The whole system of international relations is changing, Mr Peskov told the Russian news agency Tass.
Macron’s comments on Russia have been criticised in the past, including when he called on the West not to ‘humiliate’ Russia in 2022. His latest comments mark a continued double-edged approach to the conflict in Ukraine, as he recently opened up the possibility of NATO troops being deployed in Ukraine, something other national leaders have so far rejected.
"What the ruler [Emanuel Macron]didn’t say was that the slaves would still be slaves, and governments would still rule them, it’s only that illusion that is going to go away."
Peace without justice is tyranny. https://t.co/0E24gMCHWv
— Empress* (@Parineca) September 24, 2024
Current order ‘unjust and incomplete’
The speech comes as Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky prepares to meet US President Joe Biden. Mr Zelensky plans to present his so-called ‘Victory Plan’, which reportedly includes a strategy to force Russia to admit defeat.
As part of the plan, he wants authorisation to launch long-range strikes against Russia using Western weapons.
France is one of the countries that has supplied Ukraine with such weapons, including SCALP/Storm Shadow cruise missiles. British officials have backed Kiev’s request to carry out strikes on Russian soil, but the final decision lies in Washington’s hands.
Mr Macron also stressed that the world order created after the Second World War was ‘unjust and incomplete’ because many of today’s nations did not exist then.
He advocates reforms of international institutions such as the UN, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to reflect the changing global reality.
