ISTANBUL

France has begun deploying military personnel to Greenland and will reinforce them in the coming days with land, air and naval assets, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.

“A first team of French military personnel is already on site and will be reinforced in the coming days by land, air and maritime assets,” Macron said during his New Year's address to the armed forces.

France is joining a military exercise launched by Denmark, which has sovereignty over Greenland, in what Paris describes as a demonstration of European solidarity and commitment to territorial integrity.

Macron said Europeans have “a particular responsibility” toward Greenland, noting that the autonomous territory is part of the EU and belongs to a NATO ally.

“This is the role France must play: to be available in the face of threat assessments, to adapt, and to stand alongside a sovereign state to protect its territory,” he said.

Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, has attracted US interest due to its strategic location and vast mineral resources, as well as alleged concerns about rising Russian and Chinese activity.

Denmark and Greenland have rejected proposals to sell the territory, reaffirming Danish sovereignty over the island.

Denmark, Sweden, and Germany are boosting their military presence in Greenland through exercises and reconnaissance missions, while US President Donald Trump has insisted the territory should be "in the hands of the US" to counter Russia and China.

After a White House meeting on Wednesday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said their discussion had failed to change the American position.

Faster military buildup

Macron also outlined a broader acceleration of France’s military buildup and warned that Europe faces a more unstable and competitive security environment.

“We must strengthen our military capabilities, our land and air defenses, and our counter-drone capabilities,” Macron said.

“We must reduce our dependence on others and ensure the independence of European armies to face any challenges,” he added.

Macron reiterated his decision to bring forward France’s defense spending target, announcing that the country will reach an annual military budget of €64 billion ($70 billion) by 2027, three years earlier than initially planned.

“Thus, the armed forces budget will have been doubled. And we will not have doubled it to please this or that ally, nor out of convenience,” he said.

He said an update to France’s military programming law will provide an additional €36 billion in funding for the 2026-2030 period, including €3.5 billion in 2026 alone.

“These additional efforts reflect three major priorities to preserve the operational credibility of our armed forces and to face, if necessary, a major engagement within three to four years,” Macron said.

France is also building a partnership with Germany on early-warning and space-based defense systems, with the aim of expanding it across Europe, he added.

“We are establishing a partnership with Germany in order to also offer it to all Europeans. And this is what will allow us to further consolidate the space dimension of our military strategy,” Macron said.