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US President Donald Trump's ambition to take control of Greenland has now invited open mockery from ally France. Responding to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's justification of why Trump is fixated on the Arctic territory, part of Denmark, France went all out to deride Washington DC.
During an interview on Sunday, Bessent defended Trump's Greenland motive by saying the 79-year-old President is focused on future threats from Russia in the Arctic region. "Down the road, this fight for the Arctic is real...We would keep our Nato guarantees. And if there were an attack on Greenland from Russia, from some other area, we would get dragged in."
He added, "So better now, peace through strength, make it part of the United States, and there will not be a conflict because the United States right now, we are the hottest country in the world. We are the strongest country in the world. Europeans project weakness. US projects strength."
This invited a swift response from France, who tweeted multiple mock counters. "If there were a fire someday, firefighters would intervene — so better burn the house now. If a shark might attack someday, intervention would follow — so better eat the lifeguard now. If there were a crash someday, damage would occur — so better ram the car now," the French Response, the official response account of the French Foreign Ministry, wrote on the microblogging platform.
“If there were a fire someday, firefighters would intervene — so better burn the house now.”
“If a shark might attack someday, intervention would follow — so better eat the lifeguard now.”
“If there were a crash someday, damage would occur — so better ram the car now.” https://t.co/gXBEAONzPq— French Response (@FrenchResponse) January 18, 2026
France's Finance Minister Roland Lescure, meanwhile, has warned America that any move to take control of Greenland would lead to jeopardising the trade and economic ties between the EU and Washington, Financial Times reported. "Greenland is a sovereign part of a sovereign country that is part of the EU. That shouldn't be messed around [with]," he said, adding that a similar message was delivered to his US counterpart Bessent.
Lescure, however, stressed that despite the ongoing tension between the two sides, Europe requires working in alignment with the US over their shared priorities, such as a French-led initiative at the G7 to slash dependence on China for rare earth minerals.
The EU, comprising 27 nations, by far, shares the largest bilateral trade ties with America, with Washington being the bloc's biggest export market.
Trump recently announced 10 per cent tariffs on multiple European nations, including Denmark and France, starting February 1, 2026, amid tension over Greenland. The 79-year-old also warned that the tariff would increase to 25 per cent from June 1, if a consensus on an agreement is not reached on Greenland. He wrote on Truth Social that America has been "subsidising" European countries for centuries, and it was time now for Denmark to give back, since "world peace is at stake".
French President Emmanuel Macron responded sharply, tweeting that "no intimidation nor threat" will influence the EU "nor in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world". A joint statement by eight European nations further said that they "stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland".
Besides, the EU is considering the use of its most powerful trade retaliation tool – the so-called 'trade bazooka'–following the tariffs. It was announced by Macron after emergency talks. The 'trade bazooka' refers to the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), a mechanism meant to boost the EU's capability to defend its interests against economic pressure from non-bloc countries.
- Ends
(With inputs from Reuters)
Published On:
Jan 20, 2026
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