Prepare minds for ” startle “ that he calls for in support of kyiv, without specifying the contours. This is the formidable equation that the Head of State tried to resolve, Thursday March 14 on TF1 and France 2in order to calm the outcry aroused in France and abroad by his controversial statements on a possible sending of allied troops to Ukraine.
Seeking to convince his many detractors, Emmanuel Macron insisted on the threat “existential” what does this conflict represent? for our Europe and for France.” “If the situation were to deteriorate, we must be ready and we will be ready”he said, without detailing his intentions or excluding anything, not even the deployment of French soldiers on Ukrainian territory. “There is an escalation on the part of Russia” And “we must say that we are ready to respond”he insisted, barely ten days after having said, on February 26 at the Elysée, that “nothing should be excluded” on this subject.
“We have put too many limits in our vocabulary”, he underlined, a few hours before flying to Berlin, to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is very keen to avoid escalation with Moscow, and that the French president’s recent remarks have raised eyebrows. The two men were to try to resolve their differences on the issue during a tête-à-tête, before meeting together with the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk.
The situation is serious for the head of state, who does not hesitate to dramatize the issue, while Russian troops are advancing in the Donbass, after the failure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive launched last summer. “If the war were to spread to Europe, it would be Russia’s only choice. But to decide today that we will not respond to it is to already accept defeat”he warned during his television interview.
“The security of the French is at stake there”
Emmanuel Macron assures us: “If Russia wins this war, Europe’s credibility will be reduced to zero. » “The lives of the French would change. We would no longer have security in Europe. The security of the French is at stake there”said the head of state before repeating that Russia, described as“adversary”, “cannot and must not win this war.”
If he therefore persists, the tenant of the Elysée does not make any new announcements concerning weapons. But he invites the allies to work together to finally speed up their munitions deliveries to Ukraine. “When Russia fires ten shells, we respond with one”he observed.
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