The geopolitical tension is rising between Paris and Ankara over Greece and Cyprus. President Emmanuel Macron has implied several times in recent months that the French nuclear umbrella could be extended to certain European partners, which Greece sees as a promise and a guarantee. “We will be there for you if your sovereignty is threatened,” the French president emphasized during a visit to Athens on April 25. The two countries have renewed their strategic partnership in defense and security, signed in 2021.
“Macron threatens Turkey with nuclear weapons!” exclaimed a well-known editorialist from the Islamist-nationalist newspaper Yeni Safak. Turkey and Greece have complicated relations due to a tumultuous history and disagreements over the delimitation of their territorial waters in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. They have repeatedly come close to a confrontation between the two NATO members. Yeni Safak argues that “France has lost its geopolitical influence, whether in Africa or the Middle East,” and calls for seizing western Thrace and Greek islands off the coast of Turkey in response.
Most importantly, the perspective of signing an agreement between Cyprus and France in June is looming.
