Is Europe the land of the new non-aligned? That is the framework Emmanuel Macron appeared to outline, calling for an alliance between the continent and Southeast Asian countries in a "coalition of independents" that would refuse to systematically align with either American or Chinese positions, as though it were necessary to choose sides in a bloc-versus-bloc scenario.

"A coalition of countries that will navigate the rough seas of trade and protect the global common goods of nature and climate (…) a coalition of countries determined not to yield to the whims or greed of others," declared the French president passionately on Friday, May 30, from the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, adopting a tone more combative than diplomatic toward the two major powers.

The times favor convergence and cross-cooperation, rather than blocs. "We have the challenge of revisionist countries that want to impose, in the name of spheres of influence, in reality, spheres of coercion," Macron stressed, as US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looked on sternly from the audience.

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