Special Address by Emmanuel Macron President of France

20 Jan 2026 10:00h - 11:00h

Session at a glance

Summary

This discussion features French President Emmanuel Macron speaking at what appears to be the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he outlined his vision for France’s and Europe’s economic future amid global challenges. The moderator introduced Macron as a transformative leader who has shifted France’s focus toward economic growth and competitiveness during a pivotal time in history. Macron began by describing the current global situation as increasingly unstable, characterized by a shift toward autocracy, over 60 ongoing wars, weakened international law, and ineffective collective governance. He identified three major sources of economic imbalance: American overconsumption, Chinese underconsumption and overinvestment, and European underinvestment and lack of competitiveness.

The President outlined a three-pillar European strategy to address these challenges: protection, simplification, and investment. His protection agenda includes implementing “European preference” policies similar to North American preferences, using anti-coercion mechanisms, and requiring fair competition from countries like China. The simplification pillar focuses on reducing regulatory complexity and deepening the single market to create a true domestic market of 450 million consumers for EU companies. For investment and innovation, Macron emphasized the need for increased public and private investment, particularly through capital market union and securitization programs to better utilize European savings.

Macron highlighted France’s competitive advantages, including low-carbon electricity supply, strong AI and quantum computing ecosystems, and predictable rule of law. He stressed that Europe offers stability and predictability in an increasingly chaotic world, making it an attractive investment destination. The discussion concluded with Macron’s call for global cooperation focused on three key challenges: achieving peace, promoting growth, and addressing climate change, rejecting what he termed “new imperialism or colonialism” in favor of multilateral solutions.

Keypoints

Major Discussion Points:

– Global Economic Imbalances and the Need for Cooperation: Macron emphasized that current global economic imbalances stem from American overconsumption, Chinese underconsumption/overinvestment, and European underinvestment/lack of competitiveness. He advocated for addressing these through multilateral cooperation rather than trade wars.

– European Economic Strategy – Three Pillars: The President outlined Europe’s strategy for increased sovereignty and competitiveness based on: (1) Protection through European preference policies and fair trade measures, (2) Simplification of regulations and deepening the single market, and (3) Investment and innovation, particularly through capital market union and increased funding for AI, quantum computing, and green technology.

– Geopolitical Challenges and Security: Discussion of the shift toward autocracy, the normalization of conflict (60+ wars in 2024), weakened multilateralism, and the need to support Ukraine while building effective defense capabilities. Macron rejected both “vassalization” and purely moral posturing as responses.

– Artificial Intelligence Development in Europe: Macron highlighted France’s competitive advantages in AI, including low-carbon energy capacity (90 terawatt hours available), strong talent pool, and vibrant startup ecosystem, while emphasizing the need to make the entire EU market the domestic market for European AI companies.

– France’s G7 Presidency and Global Leadership: Macron outlined France’s agenda for the G7 presidency focused on restoring frank dialogue among major economies, addressing global imbalances through cooperation rather than protectionism, and building bridges with emerging economies and BRICS nations.

Overall Purpose:

The discussion served as a platform for President Macron to present his vision for addressing global economic and geopolitical challenges through enhanced European sovereignty, multilateral cooperation, and strategic investment in innovation. It was designed to position France and Europe as leaders in creating a more stable, cooperative global order while attracting international investment.

Overall Tone:

The tone was serious and urgent throughout, reflecting the gravity of global challenges Macron described. He maintained a diplomatic but firm stance, particularly when discussing trade imbalances and the need for European protection measures. The tone remained consistently focused on solutions and cooperation rather than confrontation, though Macron was direct about rejecting “bullying” behavior from other global powers. The discussion concluded on an optimistic note emphasizing shared challenges and the potential for coordinated action.

Speakers

– Emmanuel Macron – President of the French Republic, President of France

– Moderator – Discussion moderator (name appears to be “Sly” based on Macron’s greeting, but full name/title not provided)

Additional speakers:

None identified beyond those in the speakers names list.

Full session report

Comprehensive Discussion Report: President Emmanuel Macron at the World Economic Forum

Executive Summary

This discussion featured French President Emmanuel Macron speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he presented a comprehensive vision for addressing global economic and geopolitical challenges through enhanced European sovereignty and multilateral cooperation. The conversation covered global economic imbalances, European strategic autonomy, artificial intelligence development, and France’s upcoming G7 presidency, with Macron emphasizing the need for cooperative solutions to unprecedented global challenges.

Global Context and Challenges

President Macron opened the discussion by describing the current global situation as characterized by a fundamental shift towards autocracy, with more than 60 wars in 2024, weakened international law, and increasingly ineffective collective governance mechanisms. He identified three major sources of global economic imbalance: American overconsumption, Chinese underconsumption coupled with overinvestment, and European underinvestment combined with a lack of competitiveness.

Macron argued that these structural imbalances cannot be resolved through trade wars or protectionist escalation, but rather require coordinated cooperative solutions among major economic powers. He provided a particularly direct criticism of America’s approach to transatlantic economic relations, describing competition from the United States as involving “trade agreements that undermine our export interests, demand maximum concessions, and openly aim to weaken and subordinate Europe, combined with an endless accumulation of new tariffs that are fundamentally unacceptable.”

European Economic Strategy: The Three-Pillar Approach

Protection Without Protectionism

Macron outlined a comprehensive European strategy built upon three fundamental pillars, beginning with protection measures that he carefully distinguished from protectionism. He argued that “today’s Europeans are too naive” with their approach to open markets, noting that Europe represents “the unique market open to everybody without checking global playing fields.”

The protection agenda includes implementing “European preference” policies similar to North American preferences in US markets, utilizing anti-coercion mechanisms when necessary, and requiring fair competition from countries like China. Macron noted that if additional tariffs are imposed by the United States, Europe might need to deploy its anti-coercion mechanism against the US for the first time, describing this potential scenario as “crazy.”

The European Commission is preparing what Macron referred to as a “28th regime” to support this approach, with technological neutrality and non-discrimination principles maintained within the EU.

Simplification and Market Integration

The second pillar focuses on regulatory simplification and deepening the single market to create a genuine domestic market of 450 million consumers for EU companies. Macron called for an “omnibus package” of simplifications to be delivered sector by sector through the European Commission.

A critical component involves developing a unified energy grid across Europe, which Macron identified as essential for supporting AI development and making the EU market truly accessible as a domestic market for European companies.

Investment and Innovation

The third pillar emphasizes increased public and private investment, particularly through capital market union and securitization programmes. Macron noted that Europeans have more savings than Americans, but these are currently overinvested in bonds and equities outside Europe rather than funding domestic innovation.

Macron highlighted that 65-70% of the GDP per capita difference between Europe and other regions is due to innovation differences, making this pillar crucial for European competitiveness.

France’s Competitive Position and Attractiveness

Macron emphasized that France has been “the most attractive country of Europe during the past six years,” citing this as evidence of successful economic reforms. He highlighted France’s advantages in artificial intelligence development, including 90 terawatt hours of low-carbon electricity available, data center capacity, strong talent pools, and a vibrant startup ecosystem.

As an example of France’s attractiveness in the tech sector, Macron noted that Yann LeCun decided to leave Meta and set up his own company in France, demonstrating the country’s appeal for AI innovation.

France’s G7 Presidency and Global Leadership

Macron outlined France’s agenda for its G7 presidency, focusing on restoring frank dialogue among major economies and addressing global imbalances through cooperation rather than protectionism. The presidency will emphasize building bridges with emerging economies and BRICS nations to prevent world fragmentation.

He stressed three key global challenges that will guide the G7 agenda: achieving peace, promoting growth, and addressing climate change. Macron emphasized France’s commitment to supporting allies, citing the mutual exercise in Greenland supporting Denmark as an example of practical cooperation.

Addressing China’s Economic Imbalance

Macron specifically addressed China’s economic surplus, noting it represents “a trillion dollars” and affects global trade dynamics. He mentioned that even Germany now runs a trade deficit with China, illustrating the shifting nature of global trade relationships. His approach emphasizes the need for fair competition and level playing fields rather than trade wars.

Rule of Law and Predictability

Throughout the discussion, Macron emphasized that rule of law and predictability are “underpriced by the market” and represent key competitive advantages for Europe and France in attracting international investment. He argued that in an increasingly chaotic world, countries that maintain stable, predictable governance frameworks will have significant advantages.

Key Action Items and Timeline

Several concrete initiatives emerged from the discussion:

– The European Commission should present a European preference proposal by early 2026 with the highest possible ambition

– An informal EU summit in February will focus on competitiveness topics based on the Draghi report

– Accelerated implementation of securitization programmes and capital market union

– Delivery of regulatory simplification packages sector by sector

– Increased EU budget investment in AI, quantum computing, green technology, and defense

Unresolved Challenges

Despite the comprehensive discussion, several significant issues remain unresolved, including specific mechanisms for dismantling tariffs between the US and Europe, concrete implementation timelines for European preference policies, and detailed approaches for addressing China’s trade surplus without escalating tensions.

Conclusion and Future Outlook

Macron concluded by emphasizing the need for global cooperation focused on peace, growth, and climate change, explicitly rejecting “new imperialism or colonialism” in favor of multilateral solutions. He positioned France and Europe as potential leaders in creating a more stable, cooperative global order while maintaining democratic values and international partnerships.

The discussion revealed a leader attempting to balance European sovereignty with multilateral cooperation, presenting a vision that challenges both naive idealism and aggressive nationalism in favor of strategic pragmatism in an increasingly complex global environment.

Session transcript

Moderator

I’m going to get started. Welcome, everybody. Mr.

President, welcome. I’ve been visiting France for more than 50 years. I know I don’t look it, but truly so.

And over that time, I’ve been passionate about visiting France, understanding it, learning about it, learning from it. But mostly, I’ve been passionate about the debates we have related to the French economy and, importantly, the French’s future of France. What’s striking to me about these debates, the debates have actually changed.

And the debates have changed over the last decade. Today, I think there’s a broad agreement around one single idea that economic growth matters. Economic growth, as it broadens, reduces polarization.

I think that sounds obvious now about the need for economic growth, but not so long ago, it was still an open question whether competitiveness would truly sit at the center of France’s economic vision.

I think that question has been answered. And President Emmanuel Macron has been the key man driving that shift and answering that question. In fact, you could make an argument that no French leader has led his country at a more pivotal time since World War II.

From the onset, President Macron has argued that France must strengthen itself, it must strengthen its defense, it must renew itself in its capacity to innovate, but also, importantly, and maybe more importantly today than ever before, and remain engaged in the world.

That perspective has defined his presidency and is one that is helping to shape the conversation, the needed conversation about Europe’s future. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron.

Emmanuel Macron

Thank you. Thank you very much, Sly, for your words. Your Majesties, distinguished Heads of States and Governments, President Lagarde, ministers, ambassadors, business leaders, gentlemen, I’m extremely happy to be here.

And it’s great to be here, as the Financial Times would say. And it’s a time of peace, stability, and predictability. So let’s try to address a key challenge of this world in a few minutes’ time, but it’s clear that we are reaching a time of instability, of imbalances, both from the security and defense point of view and the economic point of view.

Look at the situation where we are. I mean, a shift towards autocracy against democracy, more violence, more than 60 wars in 2024, an absolute record, even if I understood a few of them were fixed, and conflict has become normalized, hybrid, expanding into new demands, space, digital information, cyber trade, and so on.

It’s as well a shift towards a world without rules, where international law is trampled underfoot, and where the only law that seems to matter is that of the strongest, and imperial ambitions are resurfacing.

Obviously, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which will enter into its fourth year next month, and conflicts continue in the Middle East and across Africa. This is as well a shift towards a world without effective collective governance, and where multilateralism is weakened by powers that obstruct it or turn away from it, and rules are undermined. And I can multiply the examples of international bodies weakened or left by the key economies.

And when we look at the situation, it’s clearly a very concerning time, because we are killing the structure where we can fix the situation and the common challenges we have. Without collective governance, cooperation gives way to relentless competition. Competition from the United States of America, through trade agreements that undermine our export interests, demand maximum concessions, and openly aim to weaken and subordinate Europe, combined with an endless accumulation of new tariffs that are fundamentally unacceptable, even more so when they are used as leverage against territorial sovereignty.

And competition from China, where massive excess capacities are distortive practices threatened to overwhelm anti-industrial and commercial sectors. Export control has become more dangerous new tools, destabilizing global trades, and the international system. And the answer, in order to fix this issue, is more cooperation and building new approaches, and it’s clearly building more economic sovereignty and strategic economy, especially for the Europeans, which is for me the core answer.

In this context, I want to exclude two approaches. The first approach would be to, I would say, to passively accept the law of the strongest, leading to vassalization and block politics. I think accepting a sort of new colonial approach doesn’t make sense.

And all the head of state and government and business leaders which would be too complacent with such an approach will take a huge responsibility. The second would be to adopt a purely moral posture, limiting ourselves to commentary. That path would condemn us to marginalization and powerlessness.

Faced with the brutalization of the world, both France and Europe must defend an effective multilateralism, because it serves our interests and those of all who refuse to submit to the rule of force. And for me, the two answers are, on one side, more sovereignty and more autonomy for the Europeans. On the other side, an efficient multilateralism to deliver results through cooperation.

Obviously, France and Europe are attached to national sovereignty and independence, to the United Nations and to its Charter. And it’s not an old-fashioned way to live multilateralism. It’s just not to totally forget what we learned from the Second World War and remain committed to cooperation.

And this is also because of those principles that we have decided to join the mutual exercise in Greenland without threatening anyone, but just supporting an ally in another European country, Denmark. Facing this order and this new situation, this year France holds the G7 Presidency with a clear ambition to restore the G7 as a forum for frank dialogue among major economies and for collective and cooperative solutions.

Trade wars, protectionist escalation, races towards overproduction will only produce losers. This is why addressing global economic imbalances is our key priority. And if we look at the situation, the current imbalances are due to some key phenomena and we all have to deliver our own agenda.

This includes American overconsumption, Chinese underconsumption and overinvestment, and European underinvestment and lack of competitiveness. And these imbalances are also reflected in development gaps, by the way, and we can no longer settle for aid that neither delivers sufficient results nor enables countries to escape poverty. So our objective through the G7 is to demonstrate that the world’s major powers are still capable of reaching a shared diagnosis of the global economy and committing to concrete actions.

Cooperating is not about blaming others, it is about assuming one’s share of responsibility and contributing to solutions. So the objective of this G7 will be to build this framework of cooperation in order to fix the roots of these imbalances and restore efficient convergence and cooperation through multilateral frameworks.

And the other objective is as well to build bridges and more cooperations with the emerging countries, the BRICS and the G20, because the fragmentation of this world would not make sense. Here, this point is for, I would say, the global agenda and how we see our G7 agenda. On the other side, we have the European answer.

And for me, Europe clearly has to fix its key issues, the lack of growth, the lack of GDP per capita growth, and the three pillars of our strategy in order to deliver more sovereignty, more efficiency and more growth would be based on protection, simplification and investment.

Because the diagnosis is well known, European competitiveness still lags behind that of the US and in the current global order, facing precisely the Chinese approach, we have to react. So first, protection. Protection doesn’t mean protectionism.

But today’s Europeans are too naive. This is the unique market open to everybody without checking global playing fields. Nobody can access the Chinese market as people are accessing the European market for sure.

But even if you take the US and a lot of other countries, the level of protection does exist for investment and trade. And the Europeans are the only ones not to protect their own companies and their own markets when the other countries don’t respect the level playing field. This is why we have to be much more realistic if we want to protect our chemical industry, our industry from the automotive sector and a lot of others, because they are being literally killed by the lack of respect of a normal framework and level playing field.

Europe has very strong tools now and we have to use them when we are not respected and when the rules of the game are not respected, by the way. The anti-coercion mechanism is a powerful instrument and we should not hesitate to deploy it in today’s tough environment. We must also advance the principle of European preference.

There is a North American preference in your market. There is no European preference today. We are progressively creating it and in the latest documents and decisions taken by the decisions, we do have the first example of that.

But this is extremely good and we are currently aligning closely with Germany to deliver an ambitious and simple framework. And this is a decisive project and I count on the European Commission to present a proposal by early 2026 with the highest possible level of ambition in order to deliver, I would say across the different sectors, the principle of European preference.

This is a necessity. We must act on imports as well regarding this protection issue and in the context of escalating trade tensions and Asian overcapacities, Europe must strengthen its trade defence instruments including mirror measures to enforce regulatory standards and we must improve the quality and added value of foreign direct investments, targeting projects with strong export potential.

And this is core for the rebalancing with China. China is welcome, but what we need is more Chinese foreign direct investments in Europe in some key sectors to contribute to our growth, to transfer some technologies and not just to export towards Europe some devices or products which sometimes don’t have the same standards or are much more subsidized than the ones being produced in Europe.

It’s not being protectionist, it’s just restoring this level playing field and protecting our industry. So from safeguard clauses to mirror clauses to European preferences and incentives for more FDIs, this strategy is absolutely key. And in parallel, protecting our economies will also require a resilient strategy on both imports and exports to de-risk supply chains, particularly for raw materials, rare earths, semiconductors, chips and to diversify our trade partners.

The second pillar of the European economy and European strategy should be simplification. And when I speak about simplification, we started with CSRD, CS triple D and we have to do much more on different sectors and we did it during the past few weeks on automotive and we have to do it on chemical, digital, AI, banking and so on.

And the core of this simplification is sometimes to get rid of some recent regulations when they desynchronize in a certain way. The European Union in comparison with the rest of the world. But we have as well to accelerate the deepening of the single market.

On all these sectors, the 450 million inhabitants and consumers market should be the domestic market of all the EU companies. It’s not yet the case as long as you have complexities. In doing so, we must ensure respect technological neutrality and non-discrimination within the European Union.

This is another pillar, another point of simplification. Neutral approach in terms of technology and non-discrimination. We discriminate during such a long time between the different sources of energy.

It’s counterproductive for the Europeans themselves. Companies have a role to play and we must act and you must act. And clearly, you must help identify and concretely help us to simplify where it is needed.

But for me, this agenda of simplification is not a matter of discussion but just implementation, speed and scale. The third pillar of the European strategy for more competitiveness is the European agenda. more autonomy is based on investment and innovation.

We have to invest much more. If there is a GDP per capita so different between the U.S. and Europe, 65% to 70% of the explanation is due to the difference in terms of innovation.

And the U.S. was much more innovative because of public and private investment. So in our budget for the months to come, because we will negotiate during this year in Europe, we have to invest much more money in the critical sectors where innovation will be made.

AI, quantic, green tech, but as well defense and security. The size of our common budget is not the right one. We have to invest much more money in order to be much more credible and accelerate this innovation agenda.

But at the same time, if you look at the situation, we don’t have sufficient private investment. And this is one of the main differences. We do have the savings as the Europeans.

Much more than the U.S., by the way. But this saving is overinvested in bonds and sometimes in equities, but outside Europe. So this is why the top priority should be securitization program.

It is prepared. We have to accelerate the implementation. And second, capital market union.

Precisely in order to have more integration and simplification, but to have an efficient capital market union in order to invest much more money and use our savings to be invested on innovation and equity in Europe.

This agenda for me is our top priority. Both the global and the European one. And it is to be implemented in the months to come.

Because everything is about acceleration. And France is committed to deliver this agenda. We work very closely with our key partner.

And at the same time, our objective for France is to stabilize our results and our macro approach and to remain the highly attractive country we are. We’ve been the most attractive country of Europe during the past six years. And to consolidate our deep structural reforms and our key advantage.

And on top of the business framework we have, I want here to insist on the fact that we have a competitive, stable, low-carbon electricity supply. We exported last year 90 terawatt hour of electricity and a low-carbon one based on our nuclear model. We have world-class innovation and research capabilities and we will improve them.

And we have one of the most vivid and active ecosystems in AI, quantum computing, energy transition, etc. And a lot of startups and unicorns and large caps of these sectors are with me in my delegation today. And on top of that, let me insist and I will stop here, on the fact that we have a high-quality infrastructure and large markets with strong purchasing power.

And we have a place where rule of law and predictability is still the rule of the game. And my guess is that it is largely underpriced by the market. And beyond what you can do in terms of investment, what you can do in terms of strong ambitions, having a place like Europe, which sometimes is too slow, for sure, and needs to be reformed, for sure, but which is predictable, loyal, and where you know that the rule of the game is just the rule of law, it’s a good place.

And I think this is a good place for today and for tomorrow. So, we will be committed during 2026 to try to deliver this global agenda in order to fix global imbalances through more cooperations. And we will do our best in order to have a stronger Europe, much stronger, and more autonomous based on the pillars I just mentioned, and based as well, and we can revert in the dialogue, but on more investment and commitments on defense and security, because we have to invest much more and invest much more.

Because we do believe, and here in the epicenter of this continent, we do believe that we need more growth, we need more stability in this world, but we do prefer respect to bullies, we do prefer science to plotism, and we do prefer rule of law to brutality.

You’re welcome in Europe, and you are more than welcome to France. Thank you.

Moderator

What I’d really like to ask is, how’s your last few days been? Importantly, though, you framed out an economic direction for France and for Europe. If you had to prioritize to transform France and Europe as fast as possible, you closed saying, yes, we are slow, yes, we’re there, but what can we do right now to really accelerate it, to broaden the economies across Europe that we have more participants?

Is there any one silver bullet that you could do to really accelerate that type of growth?

Emmanuel Macron

I don’t think there is one silver bullet, but I think on the very short run, given the situation in some critical sectors, I think the European preference is a necessity, because we are desynchronized with the others, and the second one is clearly a big bunch of simplifications.

The 28th regime, which is being prepared by the Commission, and the deepening of the single market is key, and this is why I insisted on capital market union. I think if we deliver European preference and capital market union, here are two game changers.

Moderator

I’ve been talking about the capital market union in Europe as one of the major hindrances compared to the U.S., and so, yes, but I do believe, as we witnessed starting last year, and we’re starting to see it accelerate this year, you’re starting to see more international flows coming back to Europe, and so that is beginning, and so I do believe that will accelerate.

But in terms of priorities, if you had to tell the Commission, what should they be more swift in terms of transforming Europe faster, so it can compete with the U.S., compete with Europe, and exceed China and the U.S.?

Emmanuel Macron

Look, I think this is the discussion we have clearly with the Commission. We’ll have an informal summit in February focused on this topic, but everything was largely drafted by both L’Etat and Draghi’s reports, and it’s well known. I think the difference is that Draghi was before China’s surpluses vis-à-vis Europe.

I mean, we should not underestimate the fact that 2025, for the very first time, China has such a surplus vis-à-vis the rest of the world, one-third vis-à-vis the U.S., one-third Europe, one-third the rest of the world.

But it was a trillion dollars. It was bigger than any other time. Yeah, and for the first time, the deficit between Germany and China was a trade deficit for Germany, and this is a game-changer for Europe.

So this is why, clearly for me, we have to fix this issue. And secondly, it’s about the tariffs. So if I have to tell you what could change the game and our approach for all of us in the year to come, for me it would be a budget of simplification with all this omnibus package for the Commission, sector by sector, European preference, capital market union, and dismantling of the tariffs between the U.S.

and Europe. Because in such a context, what doesn’t make sense is to have tariffs between allies. We have to fix the war in Ukraine.

We have to help the Ukrainians to resist. and find a sustainable peace. We have to fix prosperity in democracies.

I mean, it doesn’t make sense to have tariffs and be divided, and even to threaten now with additional tariffs. We can use it. I mean, the crazy thing is that we can be put in a situation to use the anti-coercion mechanism for the very first time vis-a-vis the US if they put additional tariffs.

Can you imagine that? This is crazy. I do regret that, but this is a consequence of just unpredictability and useless aggressivity.

So what we have to do is to remain very calm, all of us. We have such an agenda with so many opportunities and so many challenges. So let’s be focused on peace in Europe.

Everybody should be focused to help the Ukrainians to have a sustainable peace. Level playing field and fixing the issues and balances with China, because it’s an issue for the Europeans and the Americans. And third, let’s be focused on more competitiveness in Europe and this big acceleration, full stop.

Moderator

Throughout the sessions today, and I think during the week, AI is going to be the dominant conversation. And the question is, how does AI develop in Europe? I know there was one conversation already being held on that.

What is your vision of AI for France, specifically?

Emmanuel Macron

Look, we are strong believers. And one year ago, we organized this AI summit in Paris. And we are one of the most vibrant ecosystems in Europe.

We really believe and we are committed on AI, because we really think that this is a game changer, not just in terms of productivity precisely and growth, but because this is a true revolution. We have assets in order to do so. You have a grid, and you have power too.

We have power. And a grid. And low carbon energy.

No need to have new, I mean, coal plants and oil production in order to deliver the capacities for AI. I mean, this is important. We have 90 terawatt hour available for more AI activities.

We have a national grid, super pilotable. Third, we have available capacities for more data centers and computing capacities. And we are delivering the agenda announced one year ago.

So we are building these capacities. And Europe was lagging behind the US and others on this field. We have talents, very good data scientists, mathematicians, and so on.

And we are increasing our training programs and our capacities. And we have several hubs being identified. And we have a critical ecosystem with LLM champions.

But as well, we have a startup on AI and quantum, I don’t forget them, which are extremely present in all those different fields. One of the best evidence of the attractiveness and this vibrant ecosystem is that Yann LeCun, I mean, when he decided to leave Meta and set up his own company, established it in France a few weeks ago, which is, for me, a good evidence.

Big win. A big win. And we will do our best to help him to work.

This is a global company, but incorporated in France and established in France with these talents. So we have all these assets. But what is important for me now is to invest to help all the startups and the companies in this sector to do much more and to increase, but to do my best in order to make sure that their domestic market is the EU market and not just the French one.

And when we speak about strengthening the single market, this is this point. And this is a game changer, because it means your domestic market is not just 68 million inhabitants, but 450 million. It’s super important.

And it’s important for Europe to have that unified grid, which it does not have yet. Exactly.

Moderator

So for the remaining time, is there any one message that you really want to push over the course of your remaining term that really will resonate, not just resonate for France, but resonate for the world?

Emmanuel Macron

Look, I really believe that we are in these very challenging times. And you mentioned some of these challenges in your speech. I didn’t mind.

And unhappily, we were even not totally complete. And at the same time, we see the level of investment in this world, in the current environment, and the ongoing revolutions. This level of investment has no comparison with what happened during the past day, years, not to say decades.

So my main message would be, let’s not be shy. Let’s not be divided. Let’s not accept a global order which will be decided by those who claim to have, I would say, the bigger voice, or the bigger stick, or the bigger one.

I don’t know. But let’s focus on just common interests and common challenges. We know what we have to fix.

Growth, peace, climate. And we should not forget climate in this current agenda. We want peace.

We want growth. We want climate. And investment, innovation, everything should be dedicated to fix these three issues.

And in order to fix these three issues, let’s focus on the key investments, the key innovation, but our ability to cooperate as well. And let’s be clear, Davos was founded for restoring a global discussion, having a global discussion between business leaders, but as well governments and so on. A global discussion is a discussion where everybody is respected, and where you provide an improvement and a way forward for every place and every people in this world.

This is the only way to make it sustainable. And I think this is the right way to do. And even if this is less present in the global debate today, we should focus much more on this approach, more cooperation.

And let’s focus on our key challenge to deliver peace, prosperity, and decarbonization of our economies for our fellow citizens. This is our duty as business leaders, as head of states and governments. And we have everything in order to deliver this agenda.

Let’s be coordinated. Let’s not waste time with crazy ideas. Let’s not open Pandora’s box on new topics.

And it’s not a time for new imperialism or new colonialism. This is a time of cooperation in order to fix these three global challenges for our fellow citizens. Full stop.

Moderator

We ran out of time. I want to thank the President of the Republic of France, Emmanuel Macron, for his wisdom. But most importantly, for your humanity and your leadership.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

Thank you. Thank you.

Emmanuel Macron

Speech speed

146 words per minute

Speech length

Speech speed

123 words per minute

Speech length

– Emmanuel Macron

Agreed on

Europe needs to accelerate transformation and competitiveness

Agreements

Economic | Human rights principles | Sustainable development

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers recognize that global economic challenges require structural reforms and that each major economic bloc has specific issues to address

Speakers

– Emmanuel Macron
– Moderator

Arguments

Current global economic imbalances stem from American overconsumption, Chinese underconsumption/overinvestment, and European underinvestment/lack of competitiveness

Economic growth matters and reduces polarization, with France needing to strengthen defense, innovation capacity, and global engagement

Topics

Economic | E-commerce and Digital Trade

Both speakers view the current period as historically significant requiring coordinated action on multiple fronts including economic, security, and environmental challenges

Speakers

– Emmanuel Macron
– Moderator

Arguments

The focus should be on three key challenges: achieving peace, promoting growth, and addressing climate change

President Macron has led France at a pivotal time and helped shape conversations about Europe’s future

Topics

Economic | Human rights principles | Sustainable development

Unexpected consensus

Need for European market protection while maintaining openness

Speakers

– Emmanuel Macron
– Moderator

Arguments

Europeans are too naive with their open market approach while other countries don’t provide level playing fields

European preference principle is necessary, similar to North American preference in US markets

Explanation

The consensus on the need for European market protection is somewhat unexpected given traditional European commitment to free trade and open markets. Both speakers acknowledge that Europe’s openness has become a disadvantage when other markets are not equally accessible

Topics

E-commerce and Digital Trade | Consumer protection | Economic

Criticism of current global trade dynamics and need for cooperation

Speakers

– Emmanuel Macron
– Moderator

Arguments

Trade wars and protectionist escalation will only produce losers, requiring cooperative solutions

Global cooperation is necessary rather than allowing world order to be decided by those claiming the biggest voice or power

Explanation

The strong consensus against unilateral trade actions and emphasis on multilateral cooperation is notable given the current global trend toward economic nationalism and trade conflicts

Topics

E-commerce and Digital Trade | Economic | Human rights principles

Overall assessment

Summary

The discussion shows strong consensus between Macron and the moderator on key economic and strategic issues including the importance of economic growth, need for European competitiveness reforms, AI development priorities, and capital market integration

Consensus level

High level of consensus with significant implications for European economic policy direction. The agreement suggests broad support for Macron’s vision of European economic sovereignty while maintaining commitment to multilateral cooperation and addressing global challenges through coordinated action rather than unilateral measures

Differences

Different viewpoints

Unexpected differences

Overall assessment

Summary

There are virtually no significant disagreements between the speakers in this transcript. The moderator primarily serves as an interviewer asking questions and providing supportive commentary that aligns with Macron’s positions.

Disagreement level

Minimal disagreement level. This is essentially a supportive interview format rather than a debate or discussion with opposing viewpoints. The only minor difference is in the assessment of progress on capital market integration, where both agree on the goal but have slightly different perspectives on current momentum. The lack of disagreement may limit the depth of analysis on complex issues, as alternative viewpoints and potential challenges to Macron’s proposals are not explored.

Partial agreements

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers recognize that global economic challenges require structural reforms and that each major economic bloc has specific issues to address

Speakers

– Emmanuel Macron
– Moderator

Arguments

Current global economic imbalances stem from American overconsumption, Chinese underconsumption/overinvestment, and European underinvestment/lack of competitiveness

Economic growth matters and reduces polarization, with France needing to strengthen defense, innovation capacity, and global engagement

Topics

Economic | E-commerce and Digital Trade

Both speakers view the current period as historically significant requiring coordinated action on multiple fronts including economic, security, and environmental challenges

Speakers

– Emmanuel Macron
– Moderator

Arguments

The focus should be on three key challenges: achieving peace, promoting growth, and addressing climate change

President Macron has led France at a pivotal time and helped shape conversations about Europe’s future

Topics

Economic | Human rights principles | Sustainable development

Takeaways

Key takeaways

The world faces unprecedented instability with over 60 wars in 2024, requiring a shift from competition to cooperation among major powers

Global economic imbalances stem from American overconsumption, Chinese underconsumption/overinvestment, and European underinvestment – each region must address its own issues

Europe must build economic sovereignty through three pillars: protection (European preference, anti-coercion mechanisms), simplification (regulatory reform, single market deepening), and investment (capital market union, innovation funding)

Europeans are too naive with open market policies while other countries don’t provide level playing fields – protection is necessary but not protectionism

Capital market union and European preference are identified as the two key ‘game changers’ that could accelerate European competitiveness

France has strong AI development advantages including low-carbon electricity supply, available data center capacity, and vibrant startup ecosystem

The focus should be on three global challenges: achieving peace, promoting growth, and addressing climate change through cooperation rather than division

Resolutions and action items

France will use its G7 presidency to restore frank dialogue among major economies and address global economic imbalances

European Commission should present European preference proposal by early 2026 with highest possible ambition

Informal EU summit in February will focus on competitiveness topics based on Letta and Draghi reports

Accelerate implementation of securitization programs and capital market union

Deliver ‘omnibus package’ of simplifications sector by sector through the Commission

Increase EU budget investment in critical sectors: AI, quantum, green tech, defense and security

Build bridges and cooperation with emerging countries and BRICS to prevent world fragmentation

Unresolved issues

How to achieve dismantling of tariffs between US and Europe amid threats of additional US tariffs

Specific timeline and mechanisms for implementing European preference across different sectors

How to resolve the potential use of anti-coercion mechanism against the US if additional tariffs are imposed

Concrete steps for achieving sustainable peace in Ukraine while helping Ukrainians resist

How to effectively address China’s trillion-dollar surplus and trade imbalances without escalating tensions

Specific mechanisms for making the EU market truly function as a domestic market for European AI companies

Suggested compromises

Focus on level playing field with China rather than pure protectionism – welcome Chinese foreign direct investment that contributes to European growth and technology transfer

Maintain technological neutrality and non-discrimination within the European Union while building European preference

This comment is insightful because it encapsulates the core tension of the current global moment – between power-based and cooperation-based approaches to international relations. The hesitant phrasing (‘I don’t know’) adds authenticity and suggests the difficulty of articulating this challenge diplomatically.

Impact

This comment served as the philosophical capstone to his entire presentation, elevating the discussion from specific policy prescriptions to fundamental questions about how global governance should work. It provided a unifying theme that connected his various policy proposals to broader principles.

Overall assessment

Explanation

While Macron called for European preference as a necessity and mentioned early 2026 for Commission proposals, the specific sectors and implementation details require further development

Disclaimer: This is not an official session record. DiploAI generates these resources from audiovisual recordings, and they are presented as-is, including potential errors. Due to logistical challenges, such as discrepancies in audio/video or transcripts, names may be misspelled. We strive for accuracy to the best of our ability.