ISTANBUL

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called for building a new world order and warned against remaining “passive” amid what he described as growing global disorder.

Speaking to students at Yonsei University during his visit to South Korea, Macron said decades of stability and established norms are now “up and down.”

“During decades we had a so-called stability based on this international order and the few certainties we had, it's up and down now. We should not just be passive in this new disorder. We have to build a new order,” he said.

Macron called for a system based on cooperation among “able and willing countries” that support what he described as a “coalition of independence.”

“I think our objective is not to be the vessels of two hegemonic powers,” he said, referring to China and the United States.

He said countries should avoid dependence on China’s “dominance” and exposure to what he called the “unpredictability” of the United States.

Macron also stressed the importance of renewed international cooperation, particularly in research and science.

“What we experienced during the past few years is a sort of fragmentation of this cooperation. Some countries started to block some cooperations,” he said.

He added that some countries had also begun to cut funding in key areas, calling it “a betrayal of the spirit of coordination and cooperation that we need.”

“So we should stop competing for a while, and we should say how to build the right compromise and work together,” he said.

Call for protection of production capacities against US tariffs, Chinese 'overcapacity'

Later in the day, speaking at an economic forum, Macron called for protecting Europe’s production capacity amid what he described as “American tariffs and Chinese overcapacity.”

“In the world we live in -- with American tariffs and Chinese overcapacity -- we must protect our production capacities,” he said, adding that Europe is advancing a “Made in Europe” approach similar to policies in North America.

“We are not doing this against anyone; we want to do it with others,” he said.

Macron described Europe as an “extremely attractive continent” undergoing modernization and simplification, emphasizing its predictability and adherence to rules.

“We respect the rule of law, we respect international law, we are not in favor of trade tariffs, and we always respect the rules of the game,” he said.

He also said Europe does not believe in the “law of the strongest.”

“We are not the strongest -- but we believe that anyone who is the strongest makes a huge mistake the day they apply the law of the strongest and abandon the common framework,” he said.

Macron warned of parallel pressures from China and the US, saying Beijing is seeking greater control over value chains through subsidies, overcapacity and control of critical minerals, while Washington is addressing imbalances through tariffs and extraterritorial measures.

“At the core, what unites us is that we believe in the rule of law, international law, free and fair trade, and the rules of the World Trade Organization,” he said, adding that such principles should underpin stronger global partnerships.