Europe will not allow attacks, France says, after Trump’s threat to Greenland

France said the European Union would not allow other countries to attack its “sovereign borders” after US President-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out the use of military force to seize Greenland.

On Tuesday, Trump reiterated his desire to acquire the autonomous Danish territory, saying it was “critical” to national and economic security.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barot told French radio that “it is clear that the European Union will not allow other countries in the world to attack their sovereign borders, whoever they are.”

Barro said he did not believe the US was going to invade the huge Arctic island, but he was clear the EU should not allow itself to be intimidated.

Denmark, a longtime US ally, has repeatedly made it clear that Greenland is not for sale and that it belongs to its people.

Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede insists on independence and has also made it clear that the territory is not for sale. He visited Copenhagen on Wednesday.

Trump made the remarks at a freewheeling news conference less than two weeks before being sworn in for a second term at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Asked if he ruled out using military or economic force to seize Greenland or the Panama Canal, Trump said: “No, I can’t assure you of either of those two.

“But I can say that we need them for economic security.”

Greenland has been home to a US radar base since the Cold War and has long been strategically important to Washington.

Trump has suggested the island is crucial to military efforts to track Chinese and Russian ships, which he said are “all over the place.”

“I’m talking about protecting the free world,” he told reporters.

Speaking to France Inter radio, Barro said: “If you ask me if I think the United States will invade Greenland, my answer is no.

“Have we entered an era where survival of the fittest will return? Then the answer is yes.

“So, if we allow ourselves to be frightened and overwhelmed by worry, it is clear that we cannot. We must wake up, build up our strength.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish television on Tuesday that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders” and that only the local population can determine its future.

However, she emphasized that Denmark needs close cooperation with the US, a NATO ally.

Greenland, with a population of just 57,000, has extensive autonomy, but its economy is heavily dependent on subsidies from Copenhagen, and it remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

It also has some of the largest deposits of rare earth minerals, which are crucial in the production of batteries and high-tech devices.

Danish Broadcasting Corporation senior international correspondent Steffen Kretz, who was reporting from the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk, said most people he spoke to were “shocked” by Trump’s suggestion that he could use military force to take control of the territory .

While most people in Greenland hoped for independence in the future, he said there was widespread recognition that it needed a partner that could provide public services, protection and an economic base, as Denmark has now done.

“I have yet to meet a person in Greenland who dreams of the island becoming a colony of another foreign power such as the United States.”

Kretz told the BBC that while the Danish government sought to “downplay” any confrontation with Trump, “behind the scenes I feel the realization that this conflict could become the biggest international crisis for Denmark in modern history.”

The president-elect’s son, Donald Trump Jr., made a brief visit to Greenland on Tuesday in what he called a “personal day trip” to talk to people.

He then posted a photo with a group of Greenlanders in a bar wearing caps in support of Trump.