Macron: Greenland is not up for grabs (nor is Antarctica)

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that Greenland is “not for the taking” in a not-so-veiled swipe at U.S. President Donald Trump’s continued threats to annex the Arctic island.

“Greenland is not for taking, and neither are Antarctica nor the high seas for sale,” Macron said during his opening speech in the French coastal city of Nice at a United Nations conference on protecting the oceans.

Macron is set to visit the autonomous Danish territory Sunday, where he will hold talks with the Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on North Atlantic and Arctic security as well as climate change, energy and critical minerals, the French president’s office said.

Since his return to the White House, Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to control the mineral-rich, strategically located island.

During his speech, the French president also delivered a forceful defense of multilateralism, six months after the U.S. left the Paris climate agreement — the 2015 framework aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions — for a second time under Trump.

“To win the battle for the oceans, we need to revive multilateralism,” he said.

Speaking out against resurgent climate skepticism, Macron said: “Climate and biodiversity are not an question of opinion but a scientifically established fact.”