FRANCE PERSPECTIVE

Paris watches the NATO crisis with the detachment of someone who saw it coming. Le Monde headlines 'Washington's growing resentment against NATO, a paper tiger dodging Iran' and lays out the mechanics of the ongoing divorce. The article quotes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth: 'We're not counting on Europe, but they need the Strait of Hormuz far more than we do. Maybe they should spend less time giving sophisticated speeches and conferences in Europe and send a boat.'

France is named in the Pentagon email as one of the countries that refused overflight rights and base access for the Iran war, alongside Spain and Italy. But Macron, speaking in Athens, chooses offense over defense. He groups Trump alongside Putin and Xi Jinping: all three are 'dead against the Europeans.' It marks the first time a French president publicly places the American president in the same category as Europe's strategic adversaries.

Le Monde recalls Trump calling the Alliance 'a one-way street' and Rubio floating a 'reexamination' of the relationship. Macron follows by declaring there is now 'a doubt on Article 5' -- NATO's founding mutual defense clause. For Paris, the Pentagon threat against Spain is not a surprise but a confirmation: the United States is no longer a reliable ally, and Europe must build its own defense. Macron has been hammering this message since 2017, but this time the facts are proving him right.