1:46A Royal Danish Air Force Lockheed C-130J Super Hercules is stationed on the tarmac at Nuuk international airport on January 15, 2026, in Nuuk, Greenland, the day following its arrival transporting Danish military personnel. Alessandro Rampazzo/AFP via Getty Images
France and other NATO nations announced they are deploying small groups of troops to Greenland for military drills, just a day after representatives from Denmark and Greenland expressed having “fundamental disagreements” with the U.S., which is looking to assume control over the autonomous Danish territory.
French President Emmanuel Macron declared on Thursday that a contingent of French troops has arrived in Greenland, with additional forces expected to join for military exercises alongside Danish personnel and troops from other NATO nations.
Danish military forces engage in an exercise with hundreds of troops from various European NATO allies in the Arctic Ocean near Nuuk, Greenland, on September 15, 2025. Ebrahim Noroozi/AP, Files
“France must be prepared to evaluate the threat, adapt, and stand alongside a sovereign nation to safeguard its territory,” Macron stated during a military address.
Macron further mentioned that the French troops will be “augmented” by land, sea, and air assets “in the coming days.”
He also criticized U.S. aspirations during a speech to French soldiers, indicating that “a new form of colonialism is unfolding among certain nations.”
Macron remarked that we now inhabit a world “where destabilizing forces have been roused,” and Europe is facing “competitors it did not foresee.”
Later on Thursday, the Dutch Ministry of Defence revealed it was dispatching a naval officer to Greenland “to assess options for a joint exercise in the Arctic region. Following the reconnaissance, further planning and organization of the exercise will occur,” according to a spokesperson.
Danish military forces are involved in an exercise with hundreds of troops from several European NATO countries in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, on September 17, 2025. Ebrahim Noroozi/AP, Files
The Dutch and French troops will collaborate with those from Germany, Norway, and Sweden, all of whom will partake in joint military exercises.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated on Thursday that Poland would not engage in the exercises but emphasized that a U.S. intervention in Greenland would be a “disaster.”
“I mean, a conflict or an attempt to seize the territory of a nation that is a NATO member, by another NATO member state, especially if that state is the United States, well, that would mark the end of the world as we know it, which has ensured our security for decades,” he remarked.
Denmark, which oversees Greenland’s international affairs, announced on Wednesday that it was augmenting its military presence around Greenland due to “security policy tensions that have spread to the Arctic,” following Trump’s heightened calls to acquire Greenland for the U.S.
Trump has posited that such an acquisition would enhance U.S. security and has not excluded the possibility of using military force to achieve this aim.
“If we don’t intervene, Russia will step in, and China will too,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday.
The Danish government concurred that there are valid security concerns regarding the increased Chinese and Russian activities in the broader Arctic area. However, Denmark maintains that neither China nor Russia poses a direct threat to Greenland.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance met on Wednesday with leaders from Denmark and Greenland to discuss Trump’s remarks.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told reporters afterward that the conversation was “frank and
Sourse: abcnews.go.com