Emmanuel Macron has backed the agreement between the United States and Denmark on Greenland's security. He said it reaffirms Danish sovereignty, respects international law and helps calm tensions. The French president spoke during a visit to San Pedro and Miquelón.
The United States, Denmark and Greenland have presented the deal as a security structure for the Arctic and North Atlantic. They say it leaves Denmark's sovereignty and Greenlanders' right to self-determination intact, as reported by BBC reporting and NBC News.
The basic dispute concerns how the United States will define its continued role in Greenland's defence.
Donald Trump has described the agreement as allowing an indefinite American military presence and permanent US control over the island's security. Denmark characterises the same arrangement as shared security under Danish sovereignty.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen confirmed that Copenhagen had reached an agreement with Washington. She said the text recognises Denmark's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and acknowledges the Greenlandic people's right to self-determination.
Her wording places the deal within the constitutional structure of the Kingdom of Denmark. It does not frame the agreement as a transfer of authority to Washington.
Macron said the Danish government had told him about the conclusion of the talks several weeks earlier. He called the agreement a step towards conciliation and pointed to joint exercises involving Denmark, Canada and the United States during strategic defence operations.
AFP reported Macron's statement that the pact confirmed Danish sovereignty and respected international law.
The French president also used the visit to draw a clear territorial line. Donald Trump had published a map placing the wider region under the United States flag. Macron responded by stressing that San Pedro and Miquelón is French and belongs to France.
The episode showed that the dispute reaches beyond military access. Symbolic questions of territorial sovereignty are also part of it.
Washington's account centres on a lasting security role in Greenland. Copenhagen puts territorial integrity and self-determination basic to the deal. Macron supports the Danish interpretation and continues to back cooperation with the United States.
Danish officials say the arrangement will strengthen common security in the Arctic and North Atlantic without transferring sovereignty.
The distinction between sovereignty and security arrangements is familiar in European disputes. An earlier report on Ceuta also examined how territorial questions can become politically charged, although the cases are unrelated.
Macron has given the agreement a clear political reading: cooperation is acceptable when it operates under Danish sovereignty and international law.
The pact does not erase the sovereignty dispute; it sets the conditions for American forces to remain involved. Its political weight lies in that balance, which Macron has made clear France considers impressive.
