Europe will not allow attacks, says France, after Trump Greenland threat

Greenland has been home to a US radar base since the Cold War and has long been strategically important for Washington.

Trump suggested the island was crucial to military efforts to track Chinese and Russian ships, which he said are “all over the place”.

“I’m talking about protecting the free world,” he told reporters.

Speaking to France Inter radio, Barrot said: “If you’re asking me whether I think the United States will invade Greenland, my answer is no.

“Have we entered into an era that sees the return of the survival of the fittest? Then the answer is yes.

“So, should we allow ourselves to be intimidated and overcome with worry, clearly not. We must wake up, build up our strength.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish TV on Tuesday that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders” and that only the local population could determine its future.

However, she stressed Denmark needed close co-operation with the US, a Nato ally.

Greenland MP Kuno Fencker told the BBC that the population had been preparing for “some bold statements” from Trump, but that the island’s “sovereignty and self-determination are non-negotiable”.

Fencker, whose Siumut party is part of Greenland’s governing coalition, said local authorities would welcome “constructive dialogue and mutually beneficial partnership with the United States and other nations”.

He did not rule out a free association including both Denmark and the US, but said “this is a decision that Greenlandic people must take, it’s not one politician’s decision”.