After Trump’s peace board invite, France says it's committed to UN charter

France on Monday (19 Jan) underscored its commitment to the United Nations charter after the US president invited it to join his "Board of Peace." The development comes amid heightened tensions between the European Union and the United States as Donald Trump threatened multiple European countries with tariffs if they oppose his ambition of taking Greenland under American control.

The French Foreign ministry in a statement, said it was reviewing the proposal of the new body "whose project extends beyond the situation in Gaza", while it "reiterates its attachment to the United Nations charter (which) remains the cornerstone of effective multilateralism".

Donald Trump’s proposed peace initiative is being seen as a United States-dominated alternative to the United Nations, raising questions about whether it would further concentrate global decision-making under Washington’s influence.

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The European Union’s Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) allows the bloc to act collectively when a non-EU country uses or threatens economic measures to force policy changes. It enables the European Commission to investigate coercion, seek dialogue, and, if needed, impose proportionate countermeasures such as tariffs, trade restrictions, investment limits, or exclusion from EU public procurement. The tool can be invoked when economic pressure is used to undermine the EU’s or a member state’s sovereign decisions.

On Sunday, Emmanuel Macron's team said that he will push the European Union to exercise its powerful anti-coercion instrument against the United States if President Donald Trump imposes tariffs against the European countries in efforts to acquire Greenland.

The tension between NATO allies France and the United States sharply escalated after Donald Trump threatened European countries, including Denamark Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland, accusing them of "playing this very dangerous game" by journeying to Greenland for a "purpose unknown."

Responding to Trump's threat, while most European countries adopted a cautious tone, stressing shared values and warning that it could undermine the Western alliance, France struck a far sharper tone, condemning the US president’s threats by drawing a direct parallel with Russia’s actions in Ukraine. “No intimidation or threat will influence us—neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world when we are confronted with such situations,” President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X.