“We are evolving in a world of great powers, where there’s a real temptation to carve up the world,” he said. “What has happened these last few months, and sometimes last few days, does not diminish this assessment.”

The French president initially came under fire for his emollient reaction to Maduro’s ouster. He wrote online that the Venezuela “can only rejoice” at his departure, omitting to mention whether the method broke international law. 

In his speech Thursday, Macron accused the U.S. of breaking rules on trade and “some elements of security.”

“Every day, people are wondering if Greenland will be invaded, or whether Canada will face the threat of becoming the 51st [U.S.] state,” he said.

The French president did not specifically mention Venezuela, but the situation in Caracas and in Greenland are both top concerns for Paris, which is helping to craft a European response to Trump’s threats against the self-ruling Danish territory.

Macron said that Europe must respond by refusing to accept what he called “new colonialism” by further investing in the continent’s “strategic autonomy.”