Macron's blunt NATO diagnosis was risky but necessary, French officials say

French President Emmanuel Macron greets NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg before a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 15, 2018. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/Pool

PARIS (Reuters) - Emmanuel Macron's blunt diagnosis that NATO is "brain dead" has upset other Europeans, but that's a risk the French president is prepared to take if it stops them turning a blind eye to an ever more dangerous world, officials in Paris say.

In an interview with The Economist magazine, Macron warned Europe it could no longer rely on the United States to defend its allies and they needed to take security into their own hands.