France, Sept. 10 -- "Europe must be among the very first global players [in space], particularly in communications and AI," he said at an international space summit in Paris.

"Europe must fly with its own crews," he said. "We want Europe to assert its ambition in crewed spaceflight."

Macron, who finishes his second and final term as president in May 2027, referred to a space mission scheduled for 2027 that will carry three European astronauts, including Frenchman Thomas Pesquet, to the International Space Station in partnership with American company Vast and the US space agency NASA. 'Shared governance of space'

"I want to see the first European cargo capsule, Nyx, dock with the International Space Station in two years," Macron said. "...