Macron calls for no concessions in the face of the spirit of defeat and the abuse of power at the UN

Let's not give in, repeated Emmanuel Macron. Like his counterparts around the world, the French president spoke before the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday September 22. He notably called for "not to give in" to the "spirit of defeat" and "the abuse of power" and to restore the "vitality" of the United Nations. “Don't give in to what is taking hold, which is basically a slow division of the world, a spirit of defeat (...) which would leave some in the abuse of power,” he said, citing the “empires which threaten the sovereignty” of others and “a few” who would like to “concentrate wealth”. “We must rediscover the vitality of our Organization, this multilateralism which is the defense of a common interest, justice for all,” he added.

“The question posed to us in a very simple way is whether we want to live in this state of nature, with some form of return of the law of the jungle, or in a civilized international society.”

Emmanuel Macron

at the UN podium

During his speech, Emmanuel Macron also once again defended the two-state solution for the Palestinians and Israelis, stressing that it would be unacceptable to "contemplate this spectacle which shames us all" in Gaza and the West Bank without taking action. “What is our credibility if we continue to remain inactive in the face of Gaza?” launched the French president, stressing that building a two-state solution was the condition for “the security of today and tomorrow for Israel and its people”.

He also discussed the conflict in Ukraine, supporting "a double moratorium" on strikes against energy sites and civilian infrastructure in Russia and Ukraine. He also called for “a moratorium on the Black Sea which will free up cereals and provide an answer to the question of food security which is so crucial for so many emerging and developing countries”.

An alternative AI to depend neither on the United States nor on China

The French president also urged all states “attached to their independence” to develop alternative artificial intelligence in order to depend neither on the United States nor on China. It is necessary that "this coalition of independents (...) who do not want to become vassals of one or the other of the two great world powers -- come together to develop an 'open source' frontier model [that is to say a cutting-edge AI accessible to all] by pooling the computing capacities which are at their disposal, by pooling their investment capacities [to create an AI] that we would share", he declared. “We must not depend on one or the other.”