European leaders increasingly fear that the American president doesn't care much about the fate of Europe, as Germany's presumptive next leader Friedrich Merz put it—'5 to midnight'—indicating Europe is running out of time to secure itself without American support.

France ran a counter-terrorism military operation spanning five African countries from its Mali embassy for nearly a decade, but is now withdrawing all troops by the end of 2025, leaving only a permanent base in Djibouti.