French President Emmanuel Macron’s TV address on the challenges facing France and Europe in the “new era” of U.S. President Donald Trump drew 15.1 million viewers, according to local audience monitor Médiamétrie.
The 14-minute live address at 8pm local time on Wednesday was broadcast on TF1, France 2, M6, TMC, LCP as well as four news channels.
Médiamétrie said the speech took a 71.6% share of all the viewers watching TV at that time.
The address followed in the wake of the Trump administration’s decision to halt the delivery of military supplies to Ukraine, as well as its threats to impose trade tariffs on goods produced in Europe.
Macron told the French population that a 30-year era of “innocence” in the wake of the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall was over, and that France and Europe needed to take its security into their own hands and embark on an ambitious plan of rearmament.
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He was speaking on the eve of a meeting today in Brussels gathering European leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a €800 billion ($863B) plan to boost the region’s military capacity.
Macron’s most watched address was on March 16, 2000, when he announced measures to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, which drew 35 million people.
Wednesday night’s address was his joint fourth most watched TV address after broadcasts on the resignation of short-lived Prime Minister Michel Barnier in December 2024 (17M); the shock dissolution of the national assembly in June 2024 (15.3M), and 2023 pension reforms (15.1M).
According to a poll by research body Toluna Harris for news channel LCI, 68% of those questioned said they were in favor of increased defense spending, while only 35% backed the intervention of French troops on the ground.
Questioned on their current attitudes towards the U.S., 61% of those questioned said they no longer saw the country as an ally, while 65% said they would consider boycotting U.S. goods.
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