Macron warns EU divisions like 'civil war'

French President Emmanuel Macron warned yesterday that divisions between democracy and authoritarianism in Europe were becoming like a "civil war".

In a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg that set out his vision of a reformed EU, Macron called on the bloc to resist the siren song of populism.

The French leader's call to arms comes after eurosceptic populists won elections in Hungary and Italy.

"There seems to be a sort of European civil war, where our differences and sometimes our national egotisms can seem more important than presenting a united face to the world," the 40-year-old president said.

"There is a fascination with the illiberal and it's growing all the time."

Macron's election victory last year against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, and his ardent pro-Europeanism have made him the poster boy for those aiming for a revived post-Brexit EU to battle the challenges of populism.

"I don't want to belong to a generation that's forgotten its own past," he told MEPs in the eastern French city.

"I want to belong to a generation that will defend European sovereignty because we fought to obtain it. And I will not give in to any kind of fixation on authoritarianism," he added.