It is an “SOS Ukraine” meeting, organized in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and their “courageous president”, Volodymyr Zelensky. From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. this Tuesday, March 1, Bernard-Henri Lévy and the magazine Rules of the Game invite intellectuals, political figures and activists to the Théâtre Antoine in Paris to discuss their support for Ukraine. Are expected the presidential candidates Valérie Pécresse and Anne Hidalgo, the American general David Petraus, the former minister Bernard Kouchner or the essayist Caroline Fourest. The philosopher evokes his admiration for Zelensky, “clown turned hero”, and particularly criticizes the “morally infamous” position of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
L’Express: Why are you organizing an “SOS Ukraine” meeting?
Bernard-Henri Levy: To show Ukrainians that they are not alone. And to express our indignation, our anger, in the face of this crazy, extreme, savage war.
In the JDD, you drew a portrait of Volodymyr Zelensky, whom you met on several occasions. How to explain this metamorphosis from a populist clown to a war hero ready to make any sacrifice for his country?
This is the mystery of destinies. Women, men, who suddenly are seized by History, hoisted above themselves, grown by an event. And if that happens, it is, of course, because they had, because they have, an exceptional character. No one knew. They didn’t know it themselves. And then, suddenly, it reveals itself. This is the metamorphosis of Zelensky, the clown turned hero.
How do you respond to those who accuse you of being a warmonger?
That the only “go to war” is the man who took the terrible responsibility for this rise to extremes, for this crime. Me, I am in peace. I dream, with my Ukrainian friends, with the Russian democrats who are protesting in the streets, of a return to peace, of an end to the massacre.
On the set of France 2, you had a tense exchange with Dominique de Villepin, who believed that a military response would only make things worse…
Dominique de Villepin seemed to want to engage in a theoretical debate on war and peace, interventions, the war in Libya ten years ago, the Arab Spring. I only had one thing in mind: the Ukrainians.
“Russia will become a pariah state”
On both the far right and the far left, the idea often comes up that certainly Putin started the war, but that it is NATO that is responsible for the situation through its expansionist aims and its “aggression” against Russia…
NATO is a defensive organization. It is not intended to attack anyone. And I also remind you that the Allies have, since 2008, clearly addressed an end of inadmissibility to Ukraine. These people – Zemmour, Mélenchon… – don’t know what they are talking about. Or, worse, they pretend not to know and just feel closer to Putin than to their own country.
First candidate on the left in the polls, Jean-Luc Mélenchon condemns the Russian invasion, but refuses sanctions against the Putin regime and maintains that France should leave NATO…
I find it morally infamous. And I think – but it’s his business – that he is making a serious political mistake here. I’m sure there are women and men of goodwill in his party who don’t like the idea of a “Rebellious” submitting to a dictator doubled as a butcher.
Europe has often been criticized for its weakness. How do you judge his reaction to the war in Ukraine?
Beautiful. There was a moment of hesitation, of course. And then Macron convinced, Germany once again became the country of the categorical imperative and Europe was united. The sanctions taken against Russia are a first in history. And they will work. Russia will become a pariah state and Putin will have to answer for his crimes before international justice.
Could Ukraine be Putin’s Afghanistan?
Who knows ? Many soldiers die. Many innocent lives are taken. I’m not sure that their mothers, their widows, their sisters, in short, “civil society”, will put up with it for long.
“SOS Ukraine: Meeting of solidarity with the resistants of Kiev and the courageous president Volodymyr Zelensky”, Tuesday March 1, at the Antoine Theater (14 boulevard de Strasbourg, 75010 Paris).