There’s no doubt that geopolitical instability is increasing by the day. While 2025 was all about bringing peace in Gaza, 2026 started with tensions rising in Iran, in addition to US’ takeover of Venezuela, which rattled global politics. Sending another shock across the world leader, US President Donald Trump expressed his intent to acquire Greenland.
In view of the crisis, protests in Iran and the Greenland issue, French President Emmanuel Macron convened an emergency defence cabinet in Paris on Thursday (January 15, 2206), responding to the two rapidly escalating global flashpoints.
The early-morning crisis meeting underscored growing European unease over a shifting global security landscape, where one marks an instability in West Asia and the other reflects intensifying great-power competition in the Arctic.
Greenland: Strategic island, global stakes
Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, has re-emerged as a geopolitical hotspot after President Trump revived his controversial ambition to bring the island under US control. The Arctic territory holds immense strategic value due to its location, expanding shipping routes, and vast reserves of critical minerals essential for modern defence and energy technologies.
In a late-night post on X, Macron announced that France had agreed, at Denmark’s request, to join joint military exercises in Greenland. “The first French military elements are already en route. Others will follow,” he said.
A French official confirmed to news agency Reuters that the emergency defence meeting began at 0700 GMT, focusing heavily on Arctic security and European responses to Washington’s stance.
European allies rally behind Denmark
France’s move comes amid a broader show of solidarity with Copenhagen and Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. Germany, Norway and Sweden have also begun deploying troops to the island, signalling European unity. The troop deployments followed a high-level meeting between US, Danish and Greenlandic officials that exposed deep and possibly irreconcilable differences on sovereignty and security arrangements in the Arctic.
French Ambassador to the Poles Olivier Poivre d’Arvor said the initial French contingent, around 15 troops, consists of mountain warfare specialists tasked with preparing for the multinational exercise dubbed Operation Arctic Endurance.
Meanwhile, President Macron in his New Year’s speech to the armed forces later in the day announced that France would strengthen its military presence in Greenland. Around 15 French soldiers are already deployed in Nuuk for exercises, and the contingent will be “reinforced in the coming days with land, air, and naval assets.”
He emphasised that “Europeans have a particular responsibility” in the area.