Not ruling out sending French troops to Ukraine, and calling on Israel to respect international law: These were among the main points of President Emmanuel Macron’s TV interview yesterday (March 14).
Mr Macron also spoke about the possibility of France signing a bilateral agreement with Ukraine, and also mentioned the ongoing war and unrest in Gaza.
The interview was broadcast on France 2 and TF1.
Here are the main points of the interview.
Churchillian words
Mr Macron quoted Winston Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ speech from 1946 among his interview answers.
He stated: “Today, we need to have, to borrow an old Churchill phrase, ‘the sinews of peace’.”
Mr Churchill’s famous speech denounced the alarming influence of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe.
Sending troops to Ukraine: ‘All options are possible’
"We are not escalating, we are not at war with Russia, but we must not let Russia win,” said Mr Macron, on the subject of the war in Ukraine.
He said that he did not wish to send troops but that “all these options are possible” to ensure that the West did not appear “weak” to Russia.
“We are ready to do whatever it takes to achieve our objective, which is that Russia should not win,” the president said, stopping short of specifying exactly what that would look like.
“In the past, we have seen regimes that killed opponents at home, had authoritarian tendencies and were determined to conquer everything they were allowed to conquer,” said Mr Macron. “Wanting peace does not mean choosing defeat. Wanting peace today does not mean letting Ukraine down.
“Wanting peace means being credible, strong, and ready to adapt to the choice that Russia would make, if war were to spread to Europe. That would be Russia's choice and responsibility alone.”
Read more: French reservist sends 22,000 tins of Breton pâté to Ukrainian sailors
Controversial troops comment
When pushed to reveal more plans, Mr Macron baulked, saying that he would not “give visibility to someone who doesn't give it to me”, referring to the fact that President Vladimir Putin had not divulged where “his red lines are”.
The new comments come after Mr Macron mentioned, on February 27, the possible sending of Western troops to Ukraine.
This sparked an intense reaction from some other European leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who said, in contrast: "There will be no troops on the ground, no soldiers sent either by European states or by NATO states, on Ukrainian soil.”
Mr Macron also said that he did not rule out the possibility of borrowing finance support in order to send reinforcements to Kyiv.
"Since the beginning, we have more than tripled our production of shells and missiles relevant to the Ukrainians,” he said. “But we have limits…that's true of all European countries.”
Read more: France to train 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers and send defence systems
‘People’s lives would change in France in the event of a Russian win’
President Macron said that "if Russia were to win, the lives of people in France would change”.
He called the war “existential” for France and Europe, and stated that “Putin has not honoured any of his commitments…[so why] would he stop there?"
Mr Macron said that the “credibility of Europe would drop to zero” if Russia wins, and that many European countries would be in danger.
Yet, the president added that the war was with Russia as a state, and not with the Russian people.
‘Putin is in an authoritarian spiral’
Mr Macron said that Mr Putin was “caught up in a personal, repressive and authoritarian spiral in his country”, and had “chosen to be a destabilising power in Europe and the world”.
The statements show how Mr Macron’s attitude towards Mr Putin has become more hardline in the past two years. In June 2022, he said that Russia should not be “humiliated”.
The comments come as Russia begins a three-day presidential election, which Mr Putin is certain to win, as all of his opponents are either in prison, in exile, or dead.
France ‘protected by nuclear weapons’
Mr Macron responded to Mr Putin’s mention of nuclear weapons by stating that France should "feel particularly protected" by the fact that Paris has nuclear weapons too.
"Nuclear power is not an instrument of destabilisation or threat, it is an instrument of security," said Mr Macron.
However, France has 290 nuclear warheads, in comparison with the United States’ 5,000, and Russia’s estimated 5,880.
‘Not supporting Ukraine is to choose defeat’
Mr Macron reiterated his belief that France should actively support Ukraine, saying: "Choosing to abstain or to vote against support for Ukraine is not choosing peace, it is choosing defeat.”
It comes after MPs and Senators voted (on Tuesday, March 12, and Wednesday, March 13) in favour of a bilateral agreement with Kyiv. However, the political parties of the far-right Rassemblement Nationale (RN) and far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) abstained from the vote.
A bilateral security agreement was signed on February 16 between France and Ukraine in Paris, during a visit by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The agreement provides for “up to €3 billion” in military aid by the end of 2024, as well as long-term civilian and military support for Kyiv.
Mr Macron did not name the parties that abstained, but suggested that to abstain was to “choose defeat”, stating: “Our responsibility is to be strong for peace, to hold this European unity together."
‘Israel should respect international law’
Mr Macron did not only speak about Ukraine; he also mentioned the situation in Gaza, where Israel is continuing its attacks and retaliation against Hamas.
He condemned Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7. Yet he also called on Israel to “respect humanitarian law, the laws of war and international law”.
He said he supported a “two-state solution” to the conflict, and denied he had said that Israel has an “absolute right” to defend itself.
France still has three hostages being held in Gaza. Mr Macron said that "discussions are underway" for their release. “[Their release is] essential for us”, said Mr Macron. He also said that “in addition to the French hostages [I hope that] all the Israeli hostages and hostages around the world will be released”.
Macron opponents: ‘Fanning the flames of war’
Mr Macron’s political opponents have wasted no time in responding critically to the interview.
Leader of LFI, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has hit back at Mr Macron’s stance, saying that he is “scaremongering” and that the president was “fanning the flames” of the war for political gain.
“If you fuel war, you end up making it yourself. Those who want peace prepare for peace. He doesn't,” said Mr Mélenchon on social media, after Mr Macron’s interview.
“Emmanuel Macron got everything wrong this evening, and on a very serious subject,” the leader said.
Similarly, president of the right-wing Les Républicains party, Eric Ciotti, said that Mr Macron was using the war for political gain.
"Does he want to wage war on Russia or occupy political space in the middle of the European election campaign?" Mr Ciotti said. "Supporting Ukraine, yes. Fanning the flames of a potential global conflict for electoral purposes, no.”
And spokesperson of the RN party, Laurent Jacobelli, added that Mr Macron was being “dramatic”. He said: “He basically said that the Russians were practically on France's doorstep. I think he's exaggerating just a little.”
Mr Jacobelli said that Mr Macron had been “unable to reassure people in France” because his “ambiguous stance” is “I want to go, but I don't want to go”.
“We still don’t understand how he plans to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, or what concrete actions he intends to put in place.”
It comes after it emerged early in the conflict that people in Ukraine were using the word ‘macroner’ as a verb, to describe someone who ‘appears worried about a situation, but does nothing’.
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