‘Your President Is Right’: Macron Says He’ll Boost Defense Spending At Trump’s Request

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday on Fox News that he plans to increase the country’s defense spending as a NATO member, adding that President Donald Trump’s request was correct.

Since Trump’s first term, he has called on France and other NATO allies to meet defense spending requirements, saying during his 2024 campaign that he wouldn’t protect countries that didn’t pay their share. On “Special Report with Bret Baier,” the Fox host said that France’s defense spending was roughly 2%, asking if Macron would be boosting it “in this environment.”

“So first, since I was elected in 2017, I passed two laws of planification. At the end of these two laws, we would have doubled our budget in France. As you mentioned, we are at 2%. We have to do much more. Your president is right,” Macron said.

“But it’s a tough economic environment in France — political environment. Your coalition is frayed,” Baier said.

In early June 2024, Macron surprised the country by calling for a snap election following a defeat from the conservative National Rally (RN) party led by Jordan Bardella in the European Parliament elections, CNBC News reported. Following the snap election, Macon later denied the country’s left-wing New Popular Front (NPF) coalition a chance to form a government, creating a divide with the group.