From Gaza to Greenland, French President Emmanuel Macron appears to be taking increasingly bolder diplomatic stabs at President Donald Trump’s foreign policy even though such gestures don’t «carry weight» as Trump pointed out last week after the French leader declared his intention to recognize a Palestinian state.

«French Presidents from Charles de Gaulle onwards have reveled in the idea that they are a natural counterweight to U.S. foreign policy on the international stage,» Alan Mendoza, executive director of the U.K.-based Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital Monday.

Charles de Gaulle was France’s long-serving leader in the 1950s and 1960s and was famously resistant to U.S. global dominance, withdrawing his country from NATO’s military command structure in a bid to increase its military independence and criticizing U.S. policies in Eastern Europe and Vietnam.

TRUMP REJECTS MACRON MOVE AS US SKIPS UN SUMMIT ON PALESTINIAN STATE

Such contrarian actions, Mendoza said, «have in many ways defined the French Fifth Republic, with larger-than-life characters thrusting their views onto the world stage.

«The difference now is that France matters far less globally than it did 60 years ago,» he said, adding that a weakening of the European country’s economy and its military might «means that where once de Gaulle could roar, now Macron whimpers.» 

«What was once a sign of French strength and confidence now therefore looks more like a desperate attempt to escape irrelevance,» said Mendoza.

In a dramatic announcement last week, Macron said that at the United Nations General Assembly in September France intends to declare its recognition of a Palestinian state, even as Palestinian terror groups continue to battle Israel in the Gaza Strip. 

Palestinians carry bags and boxes containing food and humanitarian aid packages delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed organization, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The statement drew condemnation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said such a move «rewards terror.» 

It was also criticized by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who called the decision «reckless» and «a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th.» He said the U.S. strongly rejected such a plan. 

Trump merely dismissed Macron’s Gaza move, telling reporters at the White House Friday «what he says doesn’t matter.» 

«He’s a very good guy. I like him, but that statement doesn’t carry weight,» the president said.

MACRON CHIDES TRUMP, CHINA OVER TRADE, UKRAINE, GAZA: POLICIES ‘WILL KILL GLOBAL ORDER’

This is not the first time the president has discounted Macron as inconsequential.

Last month, after the French president speculated about Trump’s reasons for leaving the G7 summit in Canada early and returning to Washington, the president wrote on his Truth Social platform, «Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that. Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong. Stay Tuned!» 

In the same post, Trump said Macron was «publicity seeking.» 

French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he stands on the glacier Mont Nunatarsuaq during a visit to Greenland June 15, 2025.  (Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)

The disparaging comments came after Macron directly contradicted Trump’s foreign policy by stopping on his way to the summit in the semi-autonomous Arctic territory of Greenland, which Trump has said he wishes to acquire. 

«Greenland is not to be sold, not to be taken,» Macron declared in a diplomatic stab at Trump’s foreign policy and seemingly an attempt to rally support from other European countries to stand up to the U.S. 

Asked about Trump’s ambitions for Greenland, Macron, according to Reuters, said, «I don’t think that’s what allies do. …  It’s important that Denmark and the Europeans commit themselves to this territory, which has very high strategic stakes and whose territorial integrity must be respected.»

In February, the French president paid his first visit to the White House since Trump’s return to power, and while the meeting appeared to be warm, it also came amid tension over the U.S. approach to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Hours before the meeting, the U.S. voted against a United Nations resolution drafted by Ukraine and the European Union condemning Russia for its invasion.

President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands during a joint news conference in the East Room at the White House Feb. 24 in Washington, D.C.   (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Tensions between Macron and Trump are not personal, said Mendoza, but they are also not totally ideological. 

They stem from Macron’s «desire to be relevant and to stand for something,» he said. «The French are famous contrarians, but they do it for the sake of being contrarian.»

Reuel Marc Gerecht, a resident scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the Washington, D.C., think tank, said Macron was no «different from most European leaders. … Trump just isn’t their cup of tea.»

«Most view Trump as a convulsive, hostile force who views America’s historic relationship with Europe as transactional,» he said.  

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

«Macron, like most French leaders, defines himself in part against the U.S.,» Gerecht added, explaining that, traditionally, France and America «had a ‘mission civilisatrice’ or a competitive enlightenment mission.» 

«The American way has been enormously appealing in Europe since World War II, but it has come in part at the expense of the French, who have culturally lost a lot of ground to the Anglophones, especially the Americans,» he said. «Consequently, many Frenchmen have a love-hate relationship with the U.S.»   

On Macron, Gerecht added, «He is part of the French elite. They are a bright lot who punch way above their weight, but, educationally, temperamentally, they are nearly the opposite of Trump.» 

Norteamérica en vilo por las alertas de tsunami

Alerta generalizada en el Pacífico latinoamericano

Elon Musk’s talk of a third political party is an idea supported by more than half of voters in the latest Fox News national survey – as long as that party isn’t linked to the billionaire.

By an 11-point margin, more voters think it is a good idea rather than a bad one for there to be a third major party (53% vs. 42%). That’s down from a 27-point spread in 2010, the most recent time Fox asked the question.

Independents – by a 44-point margin and Democrats – by 20 points say a third party is a good idea while Republicans think it’s a bad one by 9 points.  

FOX NEWS POLL: SUPPORT FOR DEPORTATION DEPENDS ON WHO IS BEING TARGETED

The decline from 2010 is mostly because of a 22-point shift among Republicans, who were 13 points more likely to say it was a good idea (50%) than a bad one (37%) 15 years ago.

«In 2010, anger and disappointment with both parties among some Republicans and independents fueled the tea party movement,» says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who helps conduct the Fox News survey with Democrat Chris Anderson. «This time around the disappointment and anger is coming from the Democrats.»

Voters draw the line, however, at a third party led by Musk.

Most, 75%, say they are «not very» or «not at all» open to supporting a party created by the billionaire, while 22% say they are «extremely» or «very» open to it.

Those most likely to back a Musk political party are men (31% extremely/very open), especially Republican men (41%), men under age 45 (38%), and White men without a college degree (36%).

Independents (32% extremely/very open) and Republicans (31%) are roughly 20 points more likely than Democrats (11%) to support a Musk-run party.

FOX NEWS POLL: THE GOP IS SEEN AS MORE LIKELY TO HAVE A CLEAR PLAN FOR THE COUNTRY

Some support for a third major party comes from voter dissatisfaction with both major parties, as 64% think the Democratic Party lacks a clear plan for dealing with the problems facing the country and 54% say the same about the GOP.

The survey also asks voters to respond to a series of agree-disagree statements about third parties and finds they are equally likely to view them positively as negatively.

For example, 6 in 10 voters agree third parties are desperately needed because the Democratic and Republican parties are failing to address voter concerns (61% agree), while another 6 in 10 think third-party candidates are just spoilers that distract from the two major parties (59%).

Democrats (59% agree) and Republicans (66%) are more likely to agree third-party candidates are spoilers while independents feel the opposite (60% disagree). Majorities of independents (76% agree) and Democrats (67%) are in alignment on needing a new party, whereas Republicans are split (49% agree third parties are needed, 50% do not).

About 4 voters in 10 feel third-party candidates tend to be less qualified than those from the two major parties (54% disagree). More Republicans (51% agree) than Democrats (41%) and independents (33%) think a third party is not suitable to run.

Voters are more decisive when asked if the U.S. political system is rigged against third parties as 70% feel it is, including most Democrats (73%), Republicans (66%), and independents (76%).

«The survey shows the dilemma for third parties in the U.S.,» says Shaw. «Voters want another choice, but don’t particularly like the options they’ve seen and are reluctant to back candidates they think are doomed.»

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

Conducted July 18-21, 2025, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,000 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (114) and cellphones (636) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (250). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher.  In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.