French President Emmanuel Macron has once again stepped into his favourite role — the leader warning that a global system is on its last legs. Speaking at the G20 summit in South Africa, a meeting already overshadowed by the US boycott, Macron said the bloc may be “reaching the end of a cycle,” a reminder of how fragile global cooperation has become, according to Bloomberg.
Back in 2019, long before Russia invaded Ukraine, he said NATO was “brain dead.” Many laughed at him then, but the alliance has struggled in recent years. Now, standing at the G20 summit in South Africa, his yet another eerier prediction has started making noise.
‘The G20 may be reaching the end of a cycle’, says Macron
In his opening speech in Johannesburg, Macron said the G20 has reached a turning point. “Meeting for the first time on the African continent marks an important milestone,” he said. “But we must also recognise that the G20 may be reaching the end of a cycle.” He warned that the very future of the group is at risk.
He explained why he feels the group is weakening. First of all, the United States, the G20’s most powerful member, chose not to attend. On the other hand, countries are struggling to protect international law. Meanwhile, there is no united approach to major crises, including Ukraine.
“We are struggling to have a common standard on geopolitical crises,” Macron said, according to Bloomberg. Macron’s own term ends in 2027, and as the longest-serving leader in the G7, he often speaks about the fading strength of global cooperation.
G20: A Big summit with big problems
The summit opened with hopes of tackling long-standing issues that affect the world’s poorest nations. World leaders gathered near Soweto, Nelson Mandela’s old home, to discuss South Africa’s priorities. This included issues ranging from climate disasters to debt relief to giving developing countries better control of their mineral resources.
But progress was blocked even before talks began. The United States is boycotting the summit completely. President Donald Trump ordered the boycott, accusing South Africa of anti-white policies and mistreating its Afrikaner population. Washington also disagreed with South Africa’s G20 agenda, especially its focus on climate change and inequality.
Earlier in the year, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipped a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, calling the agenda a waste of taxpayer money.
The clash between the US and South Africa has been brewing all year, and by the time leaders arrived in Johannesburg, the tension was impossible to ignore. “I do regret it,” Macron said of Trump’s absence, “but it should not block us.”
The G20 has always been a mix of very different powers, from the US, China and India to the EU, Russia, Saudi Arabia and others, and the group only works when all members agree. The only US representative attending this summit is a junior official from the embassy in South Africa.