Opposition leaders say they left their meeting with the head of state this Thursday, March 7, worried. Some accuse Emmanuel Macron of being irresponsible by placing “no limits” on France’s support for Ukraine.
Emmanuel Macron and the leaders of the opposition parties are unanimous on France’s support for Ukraine, but not all adhere to the President of the Republic’s logic of going as far as necessary. The meeting organized at the Elysée this Thursday March 7 to present the conclusions of the international conference concerning the amplification of military aid granted to Ukraine held last week does not seem to have made it possible to advance the discussions. The Head of State reaffirmed the fact that there would be “no limits in support for Ukraine” in front of his interlocutors as indicated franceinfoseeming to confirm his comments made at the end of February about a possible sending of troops to Ukrainian soil.
The idea of military aid going as far as sending reinforcements to Ukraine had already not obtained the support of the oppositions. However, Emmanuel Macron held the position he has been defending for several days, insisting on the “need for a start” in the face of Russian aggression. But political leaders reiterated their wish not to cross certain red lines.
Macron accused of losing his “coolness”
“There are no limits and no red lines. I think that France’s role is to set red lines. From the moment we consider sending French soldiers (…) to a nuclear power like Russia, I think it is irresponsible and extremely dangerous,” reacted the president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, to the press after the meeting. Marine Le Pen’s foal went so far as to describe a head of state losing his “coolness” and “going to war”. Among Les Républicains we are also opposed to too active aid which would bring France into the conflict, out of the question of becoming “co-belligerents” in the opinion of Eric Ciotti.
The absence of limits has also raised concerns among leaders of the left, including the national secretary of the environmentalist party EELV, Marine Tondelier, and the coordinator of La France insoumise, Manuel Bompard. “I come away with even more concerns because the President of the Republic does not really seem to understand the risk that could pose for France, but for the world in general, stubbornness in this military path,” said declared the rebellious elected official, regretting that Emmanuel Macron does not open the way to “diplomatic solutions”.
A meeting for nothing?
With such divergent opinions, no consensus on the famous limits of French engagement with Ukraine has been found, according to Jordan Bardella and Fabien Roussel. “Our subject of divergence is the means we are using” to come to the aid of the country invaded by Russia in February 2022, explained the national secretary of the French Communist Party who believes that “without a red line” there is only “war as the only horizon” on X.
The discussions between Emmanuel Macron and political leaders were therefore not fruitful and they could have been parasitized by electoral ambitions according to the fears expressed by Eric Ciotti on X. According to the president of LR it would be “unacceptable to exploit the conflict Ukrainian” in the run-up to the European elections. Whether his suspicions are founded or not, the deputy for Alpes-Maritimes asked himself the question of “the usefulness of this meeting”. A criticism already heard after the Saint-Denis Meetings between the President of the Republic and the leaders of the opposition which inspired the format of the March 7 meeting.
The subject of French aid to Ukraine therefore remains open after meetings between Emmanuel Macron and his predecessors François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday evening and with the oppositions this Thursday. The extent of the aid and the support strategy could be decided on March 12 and 13 during a debate and a vote organized in Parliament, first in the National Assembly and in the Senate the next day.