The debate over patriotism and nationalism suffers from a terminological confusion, as demonstrated by Macron’s slap at nationalism the other day. Patriotism (the word goes back to patria, the same root as patriarchy) is simply love of your own. Nationalism is the belief that a distinct people, defined by a common history and culture (including founding heroes, ideals, etc.), should occupy a distinct territory and govern themselves.
I believe that both are important, natural, and healthy. But the effort by Macron and others to define what is really cosmopolitan universalism as patriotism, which again is love of your own people and land, is bizarre and wrong-headed.
The debate over nationalism would benefit if anti-nationalists were more precise about words and what they oppose, which is usually not nationalism per se (although the EU-promoting Macron is a genuine anti-nationalist), but other -isms, like imperialism, chauvinism, militarism, racism, anti-semitism, social Darwinism, authoritarianism, and fascism. As the American experience abundantly shows, nationalism is not the same as any of those things.