French president says current international situation fractures cooperation on health

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday warned that the current international situation stemming from wars, divisions, and doubts on collective organizations fractures cooperation on health.

Stressing that a world marked by wars disrupts issues of supply, security, and strategic autonomy, Macron alerted that challenges posed by global health more than ever require coordination and cooperation.

"We are facing an international situation that is fracturing this very cooperation: wars, divisions, declining contributions, and doubts expressed by some about our collective organization," Macron said at One Health Summit held in Lyon.

He noted that such summits are held to respond to the "fragmentation of the international order," while building coalitions of stakeholders and demonstrating that "effective multilateralism is still possible."

"We have reaffirmed – and we reaffirm for this One Health Summit – first and foremost, that any progress depends on free, open, and independent science. It is an absolute necessity," Macron underscored.

He warned that global health will not advance if science becomes an "instrument of politics," or a tool where governments dictate what can and cannot be researched.

"Let me reaffirm that France will stand alongside the World Health Organization, alongside all the international organizations present, to defend effective multilateralism – a rigorous vision grounded in science and the collective decisions we must make," Macron also said.

He reiterated that the world does not have the right to forget what happened in the past. "We have a duty to prepare for the challenges of today and tomorrow. It is up to us to act."