By Rachel Roberts

French President Emmanuel Macron has reaffirmed his support for the sovereignty of the Danish territory of Greenland following renewed interest in annexing the territory from the United States.

Macron on Tuesday recalled his visit to Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, last June, saying that the territory “belongs to its people,” while Denmark is “its guarantor.”

“In Nuuk, I reaffirmed France’s unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark and Greenland,” Macron wrote on X. “Greenland belongs to its people. Denmark stands as its guarantor. I join my voice to that of Europeans in expressing our full solidarity.”

The people of Greenland have full Danish citizenship, meaning they are members of the European Union, although the island is geographically part of North America, sharing a land border with Canada that is less than a mile long on Hans Island, which is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Despite its location, Greenland has politically and culturally been associated with the northern European kingdoms of Norway and Denmark for more than a thousand years.

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Jeff Landry, the governor of Louisiana, would serve as Washington’s special envoy to Greenland.

‘We Have to Have It’

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Landry recognizes “how essential Greenland is” for U.S. national security, and will strongly advance his country’s interests to ensure the safety of allies and the wider world.

Landry thanked the president on X: “It’s an honor to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the US. This in no way affects my position as Governor of Louisiana!”

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry speaks to EpochTV’s Jan Jekielek in Washington on Oct. 16, 2025. The Epoch Times

Greenland, an autonomous territory under Danish sovereignty, has long been considered important to the United States due to its strategic location and vast mineral resources, with an estimated 1.5 million tons of rare earth materials.

In 2024, Trump described the acquisition of the financially struggling island as an “absolute necessity” for U.S. economic and national security, comparing its acquisition to doing a “large real estate deal.”

“President Donald J. Trump is absolutely right!” Landry wrote in ⁠a Jan. 9 post on X. “We need to ensure that Greenland joins the United States. GREAT for them, GREAT for ‌us! Let’s get it done!”

Trump told reporters from Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, “We need Greenland for national security, not for minerals. … If you take a look at Greenland, you look up and down the coast, you have Russian and Chinese ships all over the place.

“We need it for national security. We have to have it.”

President Donald Trump talks about Greenland as he addresses a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 4, 2025, as Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson listen. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo

‘Completely Unacceptable’

Both Denmark and Greenland have consistently rejected any proposals to sell the territory, which is the world’s largest island with a total area of 836,330 square miles.

The territory has a devolved government within a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, with Frederik X its head of state as the monarch of Denmark and Jens-Frederik Nielsen serving as the Greenlandic prime minister. Greenland has the right to declare independence under a 2009 agreement.

Nielsen responded to Trump’s comments on Facebook.

“We have woken up again to a new announcement from the U.S. president,” he wrote. “This may sound big, but it does not change anything for us. We decide our own future.”

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Monday he would summon U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Howery, who he said had pledged “mutual respect” during a recent visit to Greenland.

“Out of nowhere, there is now a special U.S. presidential representative, who, according to himself, is tasked with taking over Greenland,” Rasmussen told Danish government-owned television station TV2. “This is, of course, completely unacceptable.”

Earlier this month, Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian ⁠Motzfeldt had said that signals coming from Washington about Greenland were creating uncertainty among locals.

“Our country and the United States have co-operated for 80 years based on common interests,” she told local daily news outlet Sermitsiaq on Dec. 8. “There is a need to restore trust so we can continue good co-operation.”

‘Large Real Estate Deal’

During his first term, Trump expressed interest in purchasing the strategically located island, which has faced long-standing financial challenges and is heavily dependent on funding from Copenhagen, as well as from its fish and shrimp industries.

“Essentially it’s a large real estate deal. A lot of things can be done. It’s hurting Denmark very badly because they’re losing almost $700 million a year carrying it,” Trump said at the time.

“So, they carry it at a great loss, and strategically for the United States, it would be nice. And, we’re a big ally of Denmark and we help Denmark, and we protect Denmark,” he added of the NATO member.

Washington has previously made offers to purchase Greenland, first in 1867 and again in 1946 under President Harry Truman, with the Danes declining on both occasions. The majority of the population, just over 89.5 percent, are Greenlandic Inuit, with 7.5 percent Danish and smaller percentages of other ethnic groups.

The landmass, approximately a quarter the size of the United States, has a small population of about 57,000 and a $3.24 billion economy, according to 2021 estimates cited by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Reuters, Melanie Sun, and Savannah Hulsey Pointer contributed to this article.