https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Europe in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed We are in dire straits, writes John Lichfield. Donald Trump wants allies like France, and even rivals like China, to pull his chestnuts out of the boiling oil in the Straits of Hormuz. https://www.thelocal.com/20260318/opinion-macron-is-having-a-good-war-but-there-is-no-good-end-to-the-iran-disaster Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:40:29 +0100 opinion-macron-is-having-a-good-war-but-there-is-no-good-end-to-the-iran-disaster France will not take part in operations to open the Hormuz Strait, but is ready to help escort ships 'once the situation becomes calmer', said President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.com/20260317/france-will-not-take-part-in-operation-to-open-hormuz-strait-says-macron Tue, 17 Mar 2026 16:34:03 +0100 france-will-not-take-part-in-operation-to-open-hormuz-strait-says-macron As the US launches strikes against Iran, Emmanuel Macron's reaction has been very different to his predecessor Jacques Chirac, who refused to join the British and American invasion of Iraq in 2003 - John Lichfield examines why. https://www.thelocal.com/20260304/opinion-why-macron-will-not-do-a-chirac-over-this-gulf-war Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:23:15 +0100 opinion-why-macron-will-not-do-a-chirac-over-this-gulf-war President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that France will increase the number of its nuclear warheads and cooperate with eight countries to help protect the continent as key NATO ally Washington turns away. https://www.thelocal.com/20260302/macron-says-france-to-increase-nuclear-warheads-in-plan-to-protect-europe Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:30:45 +0100 macron-says-france-to-increase-nuclear-warheads-in-plan-to-protect-europe Sharing umbrellas is never easy. France has offered to 'extend' its nuclear umbrella to other European countries without actually 'sharing' it. How can that work, asks John Lichfield. https://www.thelocal.com/20260218/opinion-macrons-offer-to-extend-the-french-nuclear-umbrella-to-europe-is-fraught-with-problems Wed, 18 Feb 2026 09:21:30 +0100 opinion-macrons-offer-to-extend-the-french-nuclear-umbrella-to-europe-is-fraught-with-problems European leaders sending their troops to Greenland has - writes political columnist John Lichfield - called Donald Trump's bluff when it comes to military conflict. Instead the continent faces the prospect of a long and brutal trade war. https://www.thelocal.com/20260120/opinion-this-is-a-1938-moment-for-europe-but-the-war-will-be-a-trade-war Tue, 20 Jan 2026 11:46:19 +0100 opinion-this-is-a-1938-moment-for-europe-but-the-war-will-be-a-trade-war President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France would soon send more "land, air, and sea" forces to join a European military exercise in Greenland, after Washington threatened to seize the autonomous Danish territory. https://www.thelocal.com/20260115/france-to-send-extra-land-air-and-sea-forces-to-greenland-in-coming-days-says-macron Thu, 15 Jan 2026 13:22:05 +0100 france-to-send-extra-land-air-and-sea-forces-to-greenland-in-coming-days-says-macron France and Britain are unlikely to include European allies in their nuclear deterrence, analysts said after future German leader Friedrich Merz called for European defence "independence" and a possible "nuclear sharing". https://www.thelocal.com/20250227/a-french-uk-nuclear-umbrella-for-europe-not-likely-say-analysts Thu, 27 Feb 2025 17:57:25 +0100 a-french-uk-nuclear-umbrella-for-europe-not-likely-say-analysts