Macron pushes European space independence as US firms skip Paris summit

In Paris this week, Emmanuel Macron convened a summit meant to declare Europe's intention to chart its own course among the stars — only to find the gathering hollowed out before it began. American space firms, pressured by Washington to stay away, did not attend; Germany's chancellor-designate was absent; and the fractures within Europe itself were as visible as those across the Atlantic. The moment captured something enduring about the difficulty of collective ambition: the will to independence is rarely enough without the unity to pursue it.