War in Ukraine: Macron appealed to the French “face to face” about supporting Kyiv

Emmanuel Macron will explain support for Ukraine to the French on Thursday evening following his controversial comments about the possible deployment of Western soldiers in the face of an increasingly “threatening” Russia in Europe.

Three months before the European elections, his interview on the 20:00 television news on TF1 and France 2 will also mark his de facto entry into the campaign following the first meeting of his camp on Sunday in Lille.

He will also speak after the first major debate in the Public Senate with all the heads of the list, with the notable exception of Jordan Bardella (National Rally), who is represented by Thierry Mariani, an MEP known for his close ties to Moscow.

The presidential majority in particular planned to focus its campaign on supporting Ukraine, accusing the poll-leading National Rally and La France insoumise of maintaining pro-Russian positions.

“The President will report on the situation in an educational manner,” sums up a close friend after the signing of a bilateral security agreement with Kiev and debates in parliament on support for Ukraine.

The National Assembly on Tuesday, like the Senate on Wednesday, largely approved the security agreement, a far cry from the consensus usually seen on international issues.

“It is legitimate and natural that he can turn to the French (…) to say face to face what the state of the situation is and how to organize things in the coming weeks,” he adds.

“Your children will not die in Ukraine”

The head of state is especially expected to make statements regarding the possible deployment of troops to Ukraine, which has caused unrest in large parts of Europe, even though he stressed that there is no consensus “at this stage” among the allies and that this presupposes, first of all, “ strategic ambiguity” in relation to Russia.

His Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu has since cleared the air, clarifying that sending “combat troops” had not been discussed and that the issue was more likely related to the presence of Ukrainian army trainers in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also wanted to be reassuring on Monday. “Your children will not die in Ukraine,” he said.

But above all, ambiguity was sown in people’s minds. Two-thirds (68%) of French people think Emmanuel Macron was wrong to take such a position, according to an Odoxa-Backbone Consulting poll conducted at the end of February for Le Figaro.

Two years after the start of the Russian offensive, on February 24, 2022, the impact of the war on the European economy, fears of the conflict spreading westward and a certain attrition are also being felt in support for Ukraine.

“Soothe and dramatize”

According to an Elabe poll for La Tribune, at the beginning of March, 39% of French people, or 11 points less than in June 2023, believed that France should continue to support Ukraine economically and financially, as it does now. The same trend is observed regarding military support: 79% of respondents also oppose sending combat units to the ground and even 47% oppose sending trainers.

“Emmanuel Macron will first have to convince the French that they are concerned about the risks of the conflict spreading,” says Bernard Sananes, president of the Elabé Institute.

Russian President Vladimir Putin himself contributes to this feeling by constantly raising the threat of nuclear conflict. On Wednesday, he again praised his country’s nuclear arsenal, which he said is “more advanced” than that of the United States.

At the same time, Emmanuel Macron and his prime minister are increasing their alarmist warnings in the event of a Russian victory and calling for redoubled efforts to support Ukraine.

“Forces that have become unstoppable,” “every day expand the threat, attacking us more and more,” insists the Head of State, calling for “the height of History and the courage that “it implies.”

Gabriel Attal predicted a “cataclysm in French purchasing power” if Russia won the war, with “food inflation by a factor of ten and an explosion in energy prices by a factor of ten.”