It is a statement that is attracting a lot of attention and criticism: On Monday evening, after a Ukraine aid conference in Paris, President Emmanuel Macron commented on the possible deployment of French ground troops. There was no agreement on the use of ground troops at the meeting of more than 20 heads of state and government, but nothing can be ruled out in the future course of the war, says Macron and reiterates: “We will do everything necessary to prevent Russia from starting this war can’t win.” At the same time he lets it be known: “We don’t want to go to war with the Russian people.”
Each country can decide independently and sovereignly about the deployment of ground troops, explains Macron. In the Ukraine it’s well received, Presidential advisor Mykhailo Podoljak said Macron’s comments showed an awareness of “the risks that threaten Europe from a militaristic, aggressive Russia.”
However, there is no sympathy for Macron’s idea in several EU states. Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary announce the day after the Paris conference: We will not send ground troops to Ukraine. And, as expected, Macron’s statements did not spark any enthusiasm in Russia either. If the option mentioned by Macron happens, we will have to talk about the inevitability of a conflict with NATO, he says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
In Germany, Macron is causing different reactions – but no one here thinks deploying ground troops is a good idea either. Above all Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). According to him, there was agreement at the conference “that there will be no ground troops, no soldiers on Ukrainian soil that will be sent there by European states or NATO states.”
“I don’t know anyone who seriously wants this, not even in Ukraine”
One of the first politicians in Germany to react to Macron the day after Green Party leader Omid Nouripour. For him, the deployment of Western ground troops in Ukraine is simply out of the question. “It’s not an issue at all,” says Nouripour at ntv. “I experienced a moody Macron who simply wanted to say: I don’t want to rule anything out.”
Agnieszka Brugger, deputy leader of the Green Party in the Bundestag, says on Deutschlandfunk that US President Biden, the Bundestag and several members of the federal government have made it clear “that sending ground troops and direct intervention is not up for debate here and marks a red line.”
SPD foreign politician Michael Roth describes the use of ground troops as a “phantom debate”. On Platform X he writes: “I don’t know anyone who seriously wants that, not even in Ukraine. Above all, they need ammunition, air defense, drones and long-range weapons.” Roth’s party colleagues expressed similar views. “We take responsibility for ensuring that the war does not spread,” he says SPD chairman Lars Klingbeil the German Press Agency.
“This is not good for the German debate”
FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann says the Funke media group with a view to Macron’s statement: “Germany definitely does not have to share this assessment.” But what is striking is that Macron is the driver, the Chancellor is the brake.
There is also criticism of Macron in the Union. From the perspective of CDU defense politician Serap Güler France’s president “overstepped the mark” with his statement. On X the member of the Bundestag explains: “This is not good for the German debate. Instead of bringing up the idea of ground troops, the focus should have been entirely on ammunition and other weapon systems.”
The former left-wing politician Fabio De Masinow Top candidate of the Wagenknecht party BSW in the European elections, criticizes Macron’s statements even more clearly. On X, De Masi shares: “Such a crazy escalation could lead to nuclear war.” Sahra Wagenknecht himself speaks of “dangerous madness” and says: “All the fuses in the Élysée have apparently blown.”