France and Canada Open Consulates in Greenland, Following Trump Threats

For years, the United States was the only major country to run a full-time consulate in Greenland and it isn’t much — a little red house with an American flag poking out. But on Friday, a new French consul general swooped in. And Canada sent a delegation to celebrate the official opening of its own diplomatic post.

Canada has obvious reasons for wanting a diplomatic toehold: for centuries, the Inuit of northern Canada have been closely connected to Greenlanders, and Canada lies just a few miles off the coast. The French connection is less clear; France says exactly eight French nationals live in Nuuk.

The move follows threats by President Trump to take over the Arctic island, and many Greenlanders, still uncertain about their future, welcomed the new missions. A poll fielded in late January showed that 76 percent of Greenlanders don’t think it would be advantageous to join the United States and more than half said they were worried there would be a military invasion.

Greenland, Nuuk