French President Emmanuel Macron has called on Europe to “wake up” and spend more on defense, in a speech to the French military as Donald Trump returns to power.

Trump has promised to push for peace talks in Ukraine within six months but has criticized Europe's lack of defense spending.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Monday that the billions of euros of taxpayer money spent on Europe's military budgets should not be used to buy only American weapons, pushing for more investment in home-grown defence industries.

French president Emmanuel Macron has called on Europe to “wake up” and spend more on defence, in a speech to the French military as Donald Trump returns to power. Mr Macron referred to expected changes in Washington’s foreign policies especially regarding the war in Ukraine and said this is an “opportunity for a European strategic wake-up call”.