Macron: Europe Should Reduce Reliance on U.S. Dollar, Avoid ‘Following America’ into Conflict with China

On the plane ride back to Paris from a three-day state visit with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, President Emmanuel Macron once again expressed his desire for Europe to become the world’s “third superpower” and — of course — with France in the leadership position.

In an interview with the POLITICO website, Mr Macron, who is a leading proponent of the formation of a fully-fledged EU Army, emphasised the need for “strategic autonomy” for Europe from the whims of Washington. A key element of this for the French president would be ramping up the European defence infrastructure in order to reduce its reliance on American arms manufacturers.

More extraordinary, however, was Macron’s comments concerning the use of the dollar as the world reserve currency, saying that Europe should look to reduce its dependence on the “extraterritoriality of the U.S. dollar”. The comments would likely be music to the ears of those in Moscow and Beijing, both of whom have been seeking to undermine the petrodollar.