Macron's Sorbonne 2.0 speech: a readout

On Thursday, 25 April, Macron outlined his priorities for Europe in his second Sorbonne speech. Here are the most important takeaways from the speech and implications for Europe.

In September 2017, newly elected French President Macron outlined his vision for Europe in a speech at the Sorbonne university. At that time, and in the context of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as US president, European strategic autonomy, and a stronger Europe in the world, were the central themes of the speech. This call was also the central theme of the speech today.

Ahead of the EU elections, which will be held from 6-9 June 2024, Macron has now delivered a second speech at the same venue — a Sorbonne 2.0 speech. Even longer than the first Sorbonne speech (Macron spoke more than 1:45h in total), the speech sets the tone for Macron’s EU policy during his remaining years as French President, and provides an overview of what partners can expect from the Elysée in terms of priorities and policy in Europe. The full video of the speech (in French) is available here.

What did Macron say, what do his ideas mean for Europe and the EU’s role in the world, and how should one understand the speech in the broader context of France’s policy in Europe? Here’s a readout.

First things first: What’s in the speech?

The speech focused on three central ideas for Europe: power (puissance), prosperity, and humanism. Generally, the speech can be understood as a logical continuum of the 2017 speech, which was focused on a “democratic, united, and sovereign Europe”, as Macron’s overall focus was still - unsurprisingly - European sovereignty. The speech is clearly more continuity than change.

The baseline: in a time of geopolitical transition, European sovereignty is not a means in itself, but a strategic necessity — and Macron’s answer to this is “more Europe”. Among others, he called for strengthening European security and defence (more on this below), a much more targeted industrial policy, particularly in five strategic sectors (AI, quantum computing, space, energy, agriculture), a prosperity pact (including European preferences), and bringing Europeans closer together through concrete exchanges (media, European vocational training, library alliance…).

In contrast to previous speeches, Macron did not surprise his listeners this time: neither did he come up with spontaneous initiatives (as it was the case with the European Intervention Initiative in the 2017), nor with concepts that still need to be fleshed out.

Yet, what was new in the speech was the tone: one central idea was that “Europe is mortal” (l’Europe est mortelle), and that the next five to ten years will be critical to preserve Europe. However, Macron also underlined that it is up to Europeans to choose “how mortal Europe is”. The tone of the speech is well described by Mujtaba Rahman as “dense and visionary, pessimistic but finally optimistic”.

What was not in the speech? Although Macron talked a lot about European defence, it was clearly not a “Europe in the world” speech. While Paris has traditionally spearheaded EU-Africa relations and the EU’s role in the Indo-Pacific, these were not the priority of the speech. While China was mentioned, it was mostly in the context of US-China competition or trade policy. The focus on aspects of EU policy was not surprising in light of the upcoming elections, but it also reflects a broader shift in French foreign policy, where the absolute priority for the European security policy is on the European continent.

What did Macron say about security and defence?

The baseline of Macron’s position has barely changed: in light of geopolitical shifts, he calls for the EU to define its strategy based on genuinely European interests. The conclusions he draws from this assessment sound familiar: he calls for a European pillar in NATO (a wording used since spring 2023), more joint production and faster production of European systems, common standards, and a European preference in defence. He also echoes calls from Commission President von der Leyen for joint borrowing to finance the European defence industry. Further concrete proposals include the creation of a European capacity for cybersecurity and cyber-defence, and integration from the early phases on in this field. Nuclear deterrence and the French nuclear forces, as a central component of French defence policy, were described as a “natural component of European defence”, yet without fleshing out further implications. Macron also invited partners to work on a “European defence initiative” to work on a European defence strategy, and based on this determine which systems should be prioritised.

Albeit not new, there was also some important signalling particularly towards Central and Eastern European countries in the speech: Macron now consistently uses the wording of “a European pillar in NATO” (although this does not shift the focus away from a prioritisation of European defence integration in the EU), calls a victory for Ukraine a conditio sine qua non for European security, and underlines that European sovereignty means acting with partners whenever it is possible, and alone only if necessary. This mirrors Macron’s speech delivered in Bratislava in May 2023.

What does the speech tell us about Macron’s vision on Europe in the world?

Macron’s call for European sovereignty is clearly embedded in a geopolitical reading of world politics. In a time of global transitions, Macron underlines that “the rules of the game have changed”, and calls for Europe to adapt accordingly.

While the calls for strengthening European defence are not new and reflect proposals previously brought up by France, the economic angle of European sovereignty was much more fleshed out through the proposal of a “prosperity pact”. One of the punchlines from the speech is certainly the perception that “the first two economic powers in the world do not respect the rules anymore” (a sharp, but not new criticism of the US’ Inflation Reduction Act), and that Europe hence has to rethink its trade policy, for example through a European preference.

Domestic and European context: Sorbonne 2.0 - why now?

The speech comes around six weeks ahead of the EU elections, which risk to become an electoral disaster for Macron’s party. Current polls show that the far-right Rassemblement National could score 15 points ahead of Macron’s Renaissance party and its allies. The speech was not framed as a campaign speech, but some elements were clearly linked to domestic politics and cater the French public, or more precisely potential voters of right-wing parties. Calls for more protection of the EU’s external borders and stricter immigration policies, an internal security council based on Schengen, or explanations that free trade agreements (as for example the CETA, the EU-Canada free trade agreement which the French Senate refused to ratify one month ago) also help French farmers to export cheese, have to be read in this context.

Nevertheless, it is questionable how much impact the speech will have among the French public, given that around half of the French voters see the French elections as a means to express their opinion on domestic politics, according to a recent poll. The speech is likely to receive more attention in other European capitals than among the French electorate.

What’s next?

Particularly the reactions from other European capitals will be interesting. On almost all points, Macron underlined that progress on major European initiatives, such as the Covid-19 vaccine programme or the joint borrowing, were the result of a Franco-German consensus. While the relationship between German Chancellor Scholz and Macron is complicated, the speech can also be understood as a clear invitation for a German answer — an answer that Macron never received from previous Chancellor Merkel back in 2017. Yet, particularly on ideas like joint borrowing or industrial policy, Paris can expect pushback from Berlin.

Similarly, the speech included some proposals for deepening the Franco-British relationship, for example through extending the Lancaster House treaties. As the UK is gearing up for elections, this does not seem likely in the next months, but opens a window for quick wins in cooperation with a potential Labour Government.

Overall, the speech should not be overrated, given that it is not a policy programme set in stone. However, it provides partners with a certain level of predictability of French EU policy. The extent to which Macron will be able to implement it will also depend on France’s ability to create coalitions for advancing on these topics within the EU.

More on French foreign policy and European sovereignty:

• The Geopolitical Europe Pulse for Friday, 26 April, will include an overview of pieces on French foreign policy change

• Listen in on Friday, 26 April, 17:00 CET (11:00 EST): “French Friday: a conversation on French foreign policy” with Célia Bélin (ECFR), Mathieu Droin (CSIS), Georgina Wright (Institut Montaigne)

Disclaimer: This is not an official transcript or translation of the speech.