“There are no restrictions against Russia”: deputies voted to support Ukraine following the results of electrical debates

The vote may have been symbolic, but it has drawn scrutiny, and not just in France. On the evening of Tuesday, March 12, after more than two and a half hours of electric debate, MPs generally approved the bilateral security agreement signed on February 16 between Emmanuel Macron and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky. Thus, 372 deputies voted in favor, 99 against (LFI and communist groups) and 101 abstained (including the RN group).

Two years after the Russian invasion began, Macronists insisted on this non-binding vote to force the National Rally and Insumis to take their positions publicly, drawing accusations of “instrumentalization” three months before the elections. European elections that promise to be delicate for the presidential camp.

“There is a difference between military support and complicity in war”

From the start, speaking in a rarefied hemicycle, the prime minister also took aim at two of his political opponents. “To abstain is to shirk responsibility in the face of history,” Gabriel Attal told RN. “To vote against means giving Vladimir Putin all the arguments and the signal he is waiting for,” he addressed the rebels.

Speaking of a “turning point” in the conflict, Matignon’s tenant warned of the risks, today “concrete” and “tangible”, of a Russian victory causing a “cataclysm” in the “purchase” sphere. “The French will live worse off due to more expensive food, more expensive energy and increasing instability,” Gabriel Attal further warned. Before reaffirming France’s full support for the Ukrainians: “We are not setting any restrictions against Russia, which is not setting any restrictions.”

But the Prime Minister nevertheless took pains to clarify that “there is a difference between military support and joint military action.” A direct allusion to the opposition’s accusations after Emmanuel Macron’s statements on February 26, who did not rule out the possibility of sending ground troops to Ukraine.

It was on this topic that Marine Le Pen fired her sharpest arrows, attacking the “belligerent statements” of the President of the Republic, before accusing the government of presenting the opposition with an “undignified choice” for an “electoral” purpose: “Either we are for Macron, or we are accused of being for Putin. »

“Ukraine does not need adventurous words from the president of the republic, but shells”

Speaking on behalf of the LFI group, MP Arnaud Le Gall explained that he had refused to “sign a blank check following the irresponsible statements of the head of state about war”, calling for a diplomatic solution and rejecting the prospect of Ukraine joining the European Union and NATO. The same voice is against the communists, who, with the voice of Fabien Roussel, rejected an agreement “which does not draw a red line, does not provide any prospects for peace” and “could plunge our country into war.”

Unsurprisingly, the left showed its differences on this issue, as socialist and environmental groups, on the contrary, voted in favor. “We, environmentalists, do not compromise on people’s freedom to make their own decisions,” said group leader Cyrielle Chatelain. “At this tragic moment, it is important to say to the suffering Ukrainians: You are family “, – the boss of the PS group, Boris Vallo, judged for his part, while calling on the leader to “do more and faster” for Ukraine.

The request was also conveyed by the president of the LR group, Olivier Marlet, who voted in favor of supporting Kyiv. “What Ukraine needs for protection are not the adventurous words of the president of the republic, but shells,” he concluded.

The head of state plans to speak about Ukraine on Thursday evening on the 20 Hours program on TF1 and France 2.