As the world braces for an election that could return Donald Trump to the White House, the prime minister of France says he doesn’t want his country’s security, or the security of the European Union, to depend on voters in the United States.
Trump, who has long been a critic of the the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has sown doubts during his presidential campaign about his commitment to the alliance’s principle of collective defence — the principle that defines an attack on one NATO ally as an attack on all of them.
“We need to depend mostly on ourselves,” French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said in an exclusive English-language interview with CBC’s Power & Politics. “We need a second life guard … we have NATO, but we also need to increase even more our defence policy in the EU.”
“I don’t want our security, our choices, our ability to support Ukraine to depend on elections over the Atlantic,” Attal told host David Cochrane.
During his first term as U.S. president, Trump repeatedly accused NATO allies of not spending enough on defence and of relying too much on the American military for their security.
In an exclusive English-language interview, new French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal spoke with CBC Power & Politics host David Cochrane about France’s role in European security amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. Attal said he doesn’t want to meddle in U.S. politics but made it clear that the security of France and the EU shouldn’t have to ‘depend on elections over the Atlantic.’
In February, Trump set off alarm bells across the alliance when he claimed at a campaign rally that he told a leader of a NATO country he would encourage Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to any NATO members he thinks aren’t spending enough on defence.
When pressed on whether he fears that Trump could abandon NATO if Russia escalates hostilities in Europe, Attal insisted he didn’t want to be perceived as interfering with the U.S. election.
“I don’t want to meddle in this election but I say that we need to also handle ourselves in the EU,” said Attal, adding security independence has been a priority for French President Emmanuel Macron since he first assumed office in 2017.
“We need European sovereignty and we need a European defence budget and we need a European defence policy.”
Attal was appointed prime minister in January by Macron. At 35 years old, he is France’s youngest ever head of government and he is viewed as a potential successor to Macron in France’s 2027 presidential election.
Attal: France a reliable partner for military equipment
France has significantly increased its military spending in recent years and is slated to meet NATO’s commitment of spending at least 2 per cent of GDP on defence this year.
Canada, meanwhile, spent only 1.33 per cent of its GDP on defence in 2023 and the recent spending package announced by the Liberal government projects military spending will rise to just 1.76 per cent of GDP by the end of the decade.
Attal said he didn’t want to comment on whether he thinks Canada is spending enough on defence.
“I will say the most important thing first is being present in multilateral assemblies, because as adults, we have first to do diplomacy and try to talk to each other,” said Attal. “The situation we’re seeing in Ukraine today shows that we need to prepare ourselves for any situation. That’s why we decided in France to increase a lot our defence budget.”
The French prime minister cited the planned increase in military spending unveiled in Canada’s defence policy update earlier this week.
“What I want to say is that France, I think, is a reliable partner for Canada to increase its defence mechanisms, as well as for strategic and industrial support,” said Attal.
The Canadian government says it is exploring options to renew and expand its submarine fleet. France manufactures both conventional and nuclear-powered submarines.
“We have a very strong defence industry in France … we have the Naval Group and we have other industrial giants regarding the defence industry, and I know there are talks between these companies and many countries,” Attal said when asked if there are ongoing talks about Canada acquiring French-made submarines.
“I think we can be a very reliable partner for Canada on these issues.”
France and CETA
Last month, the French Senate voted overwhelmingly against ratifying the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA). The deal, signed by Canada and the EU in 2016, came into force provisionally in 2017 and awaits ratification by every EU member state.
Europe’s free-trade deals have come in for fierce criticism in recent years and French farmers have been spearheading the fight against CETA, claiming it favours Canadian producers.
Macron and Attal are ardent supporters of CETA.
“It’s a good deal for both Canada and for France,” said Attal, noting the increase in Canada-EU trade flow under the agreement. “The Senate, where we don’t have the majority … decided to block it, I think, for political reasons because there are the European elections coming.”
Attal said he and his government are confident they can convince French lawmakers and French farmers of CETA’s value.