French President, Emmanuel Macron pointed to the risks Europe faces in the conflict over Taiwan in an interview published on Monday following a three-day state visit to China.
The French president’s comments drew a heated reaction in Germany from across the political spectrum.
According to the French newspaper Les Echos who quoted Macron stated that “The worse thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the U.S. agenda and a Chinese overreaction.
“Europe should avoid falling into the trap of being caught in a foreign crisis.
“Europe faced the threat of becoming a vassal between the United States and China, while it could instead be a third pole,” Macron said.
Meanwhile, a foreign policy spokesman for the opposition conservative CDU, Norbert Rottgen, accused French president of dividing and weakening Europe with naïve and dangerous rhetoric.
“Macron appears to have taken leave of his senses,” he said.
Also, general secretary of the liberal FDP, a junior government partner, Bijan Djir-Sarai, said the position taken up by Macron was not a sound strategy for Europe, as the US and Europe should work together.