France grapples with cold, hard truths of its place in the world

In a grim 90-minute speech at the Sorbonne, Macron implored Europe "never ... to be a vassal of the United States". He said the continent had to gird itself for more protectionism from the US and China, as well as emboldened authoritarian regimes. "The era of basing our production in China, of delegating our defence to the US, and of getting our energy from Russia has changed", he said. "The rules of the game have changed". A visit by Xi to Paris this month produced little by way of major outcomes. But it is notable that the language of decoupling,…