PARIS (CN) – Against the backdrop of the Iran conflict, French President Emmanuel Macron’s journey to Japan and South Korea this week has taken on further symbolic significance: the rising urgency to strengthen partnerships amid an more and more unpredictable U.S. authorities.  

“In more concrete terms, we might see more initiatives coming up, not just in terms of the economy, but also in terms of security within the Indo-Pacific, in terms of diplomacy, probably more consultation between the main European partners and Japan,” mentioned Karoline Postel-Vinay, a analysis professor specialised at Sciences Po Paris. “That’s definitely the goal, to have middle powers that still believe in the rule of law and that still believe in a certain type of international order.”

Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi signed quite a few agreements throughout his journey from Tuesday to Thursday, earlier than he set off for South Korea. The two powers agreed to share technical experience on nuclear vitality and help first-time nuclear powers, set up a rare-earth manufacturing facility in France and guarantee a “free and fair” financial order, amongst different initiatives. This all contributed to a shared objective of “cooperating to enhance their strategic economy,” in keeping with a joint assertion.  

“They’ve signed a new road map for defense and security, which is really good because joint exercises have been going for a long time actually,” mentioned Guibourg Delamotte, a professor of political science on the French Institute of Oriental Studies. “But the idea of the roadmap is actually to promote them, make them smoother, which is a good idea.”

With safety and protection on the desk, it is unimaginable to disregard the broader geopolitical context throughout which this assembly was happening. Ever since U.S. President Donald Trump started his second time period in January 2025, strategic autonomy has been high of thoughts in Europe, particularly given the chance that the U.S. might attempt to pull out of NATO.

The urgency heightened when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, triggering a full-blown regional battle with out consulting a lot of its allies beforehand. Japan and France have each advocated for a peaceable finish to the continued conflict.  

“The French position, which is extremely reserved regarding the intervention of the U.S. and Israel particularly in Iran, means that President Macron, or France in general, must seek new partners,” mentioned Gilbert Casasus, professor of European Studies on the University of Fribourg. “I think that Japan offers him new opportunities, which are symbolic opportunities, but which are also economic and research opportunities.”

Trump has criticized allies for not offering sufficient help to the Iran conflict, however the criticism goes each methods. On Wednesday, talking to an viewers of Japanese enterprise leaders in Tokyo, Macron offered Europe’s “predictability” as an asset, an obvious swipe at Trump and enchantment to Japan.

“Predictability has value, and we have demonstrated that over all these past years, and dare I say, even these past weeks – we are where you know we will go,” he mentioned. “That’s not bad in times like these, believe me.”

In Delamotte’s view, because of this Macron has come to understand that European strategic sovereignty would possibly require different nations – like Japan, South Korea and Australia – to make it work.

“I think it’s an indication that perhaps President Macron is realizing that simply talking about European sovereignty will not cut it,” she mentioned. “So it’s a sort of concept that meets [Canadian Prime Minister] Mark Carney’s idea of middle power cooperation … we’ve reached a time when those cooperations need to be brought together a bit more, and that’s gradually happening.”

Japan is in a specific bind, in keeping with Postel-Vinay. Since 1945, the nation has historically had a really sturdy alliance with the U.S., which she mentioned is “one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world.”

“What Macron is suggesting is that middle powers such as France and Japan should converge and try to have common ground, so symbolically, what’s interesting is that Japan would have always been very, very prudent toward that approach,” she mentioned. “Because again, the relationship with the U.S. is so important for Japan’s security that it never wanted to move one inch from that position.”

However, now that there are some doubts about what the U.S. would really do to guard Japan, South Korea and different allies in Asia, the nation has change into extra open to that dialogue with Europeans, Postel-Vinay defined.

“While allies probably appreciate that they have been [supporting] their defense, they feel also that they’re being bullied and shoved around and not treated with any kind of consideration, or they’re not treated as partners,” Delamotte mentioned. “And with an increasing sense that the U.S. is a bit capricious and is no longer a reliable partner.”

This is maybe why Macron performed up the thought of predictability, which contrasted Trump’s rhetoric when Takaichi visited the White House in March. When she implied that Japan wasn’t happy with the dealing with of the Iran conflict, Trump likened the state of affairs to Japan’s shock assault on Pearl Harbor in 1941, which introduced the U.S. into World War II.

“It was very clear on her face that she was totally ill at ease,” Postel-Vinay mentioned. “And of course, then having a European head of state saying, ‘we’re close to you and we respect you’ is a contrast in terms of diplomatic communication.”

On Thursday, Trump was extensively criticized for feedback that he made in regards to the French president and his spouse, Brigitte Macron. Referring to a video from May 2025, when she was filmed shoving Macron’s face – which Macron has mentioned was simply an occasion of the couple joking round – Trump mentioned, “I call up France, Macron, whose wife treats him extremely badly … still recovering from the right to the jaw.”

Macron mentioned that the feedback had been “neither elegant nor up to standard” and did not benefit a response. Politicians throughout the spectrum denounced Trump’s rhetoric at a time the place missiles are being launched and lives are at stake.

“We truly sunk to a new low today,” Casasus mentioned. “We’re currently experiencing an international mindset that is completely inadequate to the challenges facing the world, and this reveals a kind of intellectual defeat that is extremely – how shall I say – worrying.”

Source: Courthouse News Service