French President Emmanuel Macron's official visit to Greece has been marked by a strong reaffirmation of the Franco-Greek strategic alliance, with the renewal of the bilateral defence cooperation agreement for a further five years. Speaking at multiple points throughout his visit, Macron delivered an unequivocal security guarantee to Athens.
The centrepiece of Friday's programme was a public discussion with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Roman Agora in Athens, titled "Challenges for Europe: The Road to Tomorrow." Asked directly what position France would take if Greece were threatened by Turkey, Macron did not hedge. "If Turkey threatened Greece, we would be there. We would be present. Look at what we did that difficult summer, look at our position on Cyprus as well. For me, that is the real definition of friendship. That is exactly what the Franco-Greek alliance expresses. Alliance and friendship are not complex concepts. They are something very simple: when the critical moment comes, you do not ask yourself what you will do the next day. You already know what you must do. If your sovereignty is threatened, know that we will be there," he said.
Mitsotakis used the same platform to frame the coming years as a turning point for the continent. "These challenges represent unique opportunities for Europe. Progress is never linear. We must give substance to strategic autonomy. France and Greece are the bulwarks of this effort," he said, adding that the next few years will be of existential importance for the EU and that European partners must be persuaded to mobilise European funds to achieve shared goals.
Dinner at the Presidential Palace
On Friday evening, Macron attended a formal dinner in his honour at the Presidential Palace, hosted by President Konstantinos Tasoulas and attended by approximately 110 guests, among them senior ministers including Nikos Dendias, Kostas Pierrakakis and Kostas Hatzidakis, Archbishop Ieronymos, Pasok leader Nikos Androulakis, Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff Dimitris Houpis, and leading figures from business and culture.
Macron used the occasion to reinforce his commitment in personal terms. "Beyond everything I would have liked to say, and all that I have said, never forget that the French love you, France loves you. Never doubt it, and whenever danger appears again, know that we will be there for you," he told the gathering. He concluded by sealing the declaration with a rallying call: "Greece, France, Alliance! Long live Greece, long live France, long live the friendship between our two countries."
Tasoulas, in his own address, described the Franco-Greek partnership as "a model of cooperation for all of Europe, in a new geopolitical environment where decades-old certainties are being challenged and international legitimacy is under attack from all sides."
Saturday's programme
On Saturday morning, Macron and Mitsotakis visited the frigate Kimon at the port of Piraeus before meeting at the Maximos Mansion, where agreements were signed and a joint press conference was held. In the afternoon, the two leaders addressed the Greek-French Business Forum at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre.