French President Emmanuel Macron has issued a sharp rebuke of military intervention as a tool for regime change, warning that such actions “open a Pandora’s box” and have consistently failed over the past two decades.
In candid remarks, Macron cited the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya as evidence that bombing hostile regimes does not work. “Iran is a bad regime, but bombing doesn’t work,” he said, arguing that lasting change must come from within, from the people themselves.
The French leader also laid out a vision for what he termed a “third path”—a coalition of nations unwilling to depend on China’s dominance or remain overly vulnerable to the unpredictability of the United States. “France does not want to be a vassal of any power,” Macron stated.
He proposed a format uniting South Korea, Europe, Canada, Japan, India, Brazil, and Australia—countries seeking to avoid dependency on Beijing while resisting automatic alignment with Washington.
Macron further warned of mounting geopolitical pressures: Russia’s war in Ukraine poses growing risks to France, China is actively trying to control supply chains and critical minerals, and the U.S. is reshaping global trade through tariffs and extraterritorial measures.
The comments underscore Macron’s long-standing push for European strategic autonomy and a more multipolar world order.
