Macron's diplomatic comeback: from France's domestic crisis to reshaping Europe's defense

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is back at the center of global diplomacy, seeking to ease relations with President Donald Trump, championing a Ukraine peace plan alongside his British counterpart, and seeing his longstanding desire to boost European defense turning into reality.

Six months ago, Macron seemed weaker than ever after his call for early legislative elections produced a hung parliament, sparking an unprecedented crisis. Known for his nonstop political activism, Macron shifted his focus to foreign policy, leaving domestic struggles largely to the prime minister.

Now, he appears as the one leader who speaks to Trump several times per week and takes the lead in European support for Ukraine, while positioning himself as the commander-in-chief of the European Union’s only nuclear power.

Macron, 47, is one of the few leaders who knew Trump during his first term in office, maintaining despite disagreements a cordial relationship, which both describe as “friendship.”

He was the first European leader to visit Trump since his reelection, seeking to persuade him not to abandon Ukraine in pursuit of a peace deal with Russia.

Macron is also a heavyweight of European politics, and shifting U.S. policies gave momentum to his longstanding views.

Since he was first elected in 2017, Macron has pushed for a stronger, more sovereign Europe. That same year, in a sweeping speech at Sorbonne University, he called for a common European defense policy, with increased military cooperation and joint defense initiatives.

He later lamented the “brain death” of the NATO military alliance, insisting the EU should step up and start acting as a strategic world power.

On Thursday, EU leaders committed to strengthening defenses and freeing up hundreds of billions of euros for security in the wake of Trump’s warnings that they might face the Russian threat alone.

In a resounding declaration last week, Macron announced he would discuss extending France’s nuclear deterrent to European partners to help protect the continent.

France's nuclear power is inherited from the strategy set by wartime hero Gen. Charles de Gaulle, president from 1958 to 1969, who sought to maintain France’s independence from the U.S. and assert the country's role as a global power. That went through the development of an independent French nuclear arsenal.

Poland and Baltic nations welcomed the proposal.

France's Minister for European affairs Benjamin Haddad praised Macron's efforts, saying they were aimed at ensuring that "in the face of this world upheaval, Europeans are not spectators but players.”

Some other key players appear to back Macron's approach.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in office for eight months, has sought closer defense cooperation with Europe as part of a “reset” with the EU after years of bitterness over Brexit.

Macron and Starmer are now spearheading a desperate diplomatic drive to bolster Ukraine’s defenses, drawing up a peace plan with Kyiv at its core. That plan includes the possibility of sending European troops to Ukraine to enforce a potential peace agreement.

Meanwhile, Germany's conservative election winner Friedrich Merz said his top priority would be to “strengthen Europe as soon as possible” and gradually move toward “real independence” from the U.S.

Only three days after his victory last month, Merz, who has called for a discussion on “nuclear sharing” with France, traveled to Paris for a working dinner with Macron.

No statement was released after the meeting, but French officials with knowledge of the matter said both men's visions for Europe align. They spoke anonymously because the talks were not to be made public.

Russia’s foreign ministry accused Macron of "demonstrative militarism dictated by the domestic agenda.”

The ministry said that Macron seeks to distract the French public from “worsening socio-economic problems in France and the European Union."

Moscow dismissed Macron’s nuclear deterrent offer as “extremely confrontational,” saying the remarks reflected Paris’ ambitions to “become the nuclear ‘patron’ of all of Europe,” despite the fact that France’s nuclear forces are far smaller than those of the U.S.

Russian President Vladimir Putin drew a comparison with Napoleon, saying that some people “want to return to the times of Napoleon, forgetting how it ended” — a reference to the emperor’s failed invasion of Russia in 1812. Macron responded by calling Putin “an imperialist.”

Reelected in 2022, Macron last year struggled not to become a lame duck after his call for early legislative elections led to a chaotic situation in parliament, delaying the approval of the state budget and forcing the quick replacement of the prime minister.

However, the French Constitution grants the president some substantial powers over foreign policy, European affairs and defense. Macron has a presidential mandate until 2027 and he has said he won't step down before the end of his term.

Macron's activism on the global stage drew criticism from opposition leaders.

Far-right National Rally party vice president Sébastien Chenu described Macron’s “moody” character as “one of the biggest issues” for French diplomacy. "He offended many people, he often changed his mind,” Chenu said.

The head of the hard-left France Unbowed group at the National Assembly, Mathilde Panot, also voiced concerns.

“The situation is too serious and the President of the Republic is too weakened for him to decide on his own," she said. "We don’t just want to be consulted. ... It’s up to the parliament to decide on such serious issues.”

Associated Press writer Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to the story.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, greets French President Emmanuel Macron as he arrives for a summit on Ukraine at Lancaster House in London, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, meets French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the European Council to discuss continued support for Ukraine and European defense, in Brussels, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a media conference at an EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a media conference at an EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana, File)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, meets French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the European Council to discuss continued support for Ukraine and European defense, in Brussels, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)

President Donald Trump, right, shakes the hand of France's President Emmanuel Macron during a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP)

France's President Emmanuel Macron, from second left, speaks with President Donald Trump as Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio react during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)