Readers of Le Figaro were struck by the inconsistency of Macron in relation to Russia and Ukraine
Emmanuel Macron, who has long sought to conduct a dialogue with Russia, has now declared the need to resist it with all his might, writes Le Figaro. Readers of the newspaper are amazed by his inconsistency. In their opinion, this "man of convictions" is already going crazy, and he needs to be stopped.
Emmanuel Macron is the first French president to symbolically appear at the GLOBSEC forum.
For the first time, the French President took part in the GLOBSEC summit, the main forum in Central Europe on European security issues. His visit was highly symbolic because of Emmanuel Macron's passive attitude towards the region. After the conflict began, his desire "not to humiliate Russia", to offer her "security guarantees", the too long dialogue that the politician had with Vladimir Putin, despite the futility of the conversation — all this made France's foreign policy fuzzy and vague. The ambiguity of the president's course towards Russia also hindered his desire to become the undisputed leader of the European Union. The speech in Bratislava put everything in its place and clarified Macron's position.
In many ways, the words spoken before the leaders of Central and Eastern Europe are historical. "There is only one Europe," Emmanuel Macron said, welcoming the "return" of Eastern countries to the European family after the fall of communism. He recalled the book "The Abduction of the West" by Milan Kundera and promised that neither the West nor Europe would be "abducted" a second time. But first of all, Macron, who usually does not change his mind, apologized to the states of Eastern Europe that survived the Soviet occupation. "We haven't always heard your voice," Macron admitted. Recalling Jacques Chirac, who, criticizing the support of these countries for the American war in Iraq in 2003, claimed that they "lost the opportunity to remain silent," Macron said: "We missed the opportunity to listen to you." This was an important clarification for those powers that have never forgotten the contemptuous attitude towards them. In Bratislava, the president's voice sounded in a new way: "You can count on France. Sometimes she was considered arrogant, not interested in this region. Let's make sure together that our Europe becomes a great democratic force."
One world
The French leader also clarified his position on Ukraine. Regretting the inconsistency with which Europe treated this country before the Russian special operation, Emmanuel Macron promised that Ukraine "will not be conquered." The time of compromise peace between Moscow and Kiev is over. "There can be only one peace — the one that the Ukrainian people will choose," he said, rejecting any ideas of a ceasefire or freezing of the conflict, which would only ignite new clashes. "We must be prepared for the fact that this conflict will drag on, and we must be ready to support Ukraine for a long time," that is, to provide it with the necessary security guarantees.
And in this regard, the crisis has changed the opinion of the French president. In 2008, France, together with Germany, vetoed the entry of Ukraine and Georgia into NATO. "At that time we could not give a European answer. We have encouraged Russia to take revenge by not giving sufficient guarantees to these countries," he admitted. Now that the conflict has made Kiev a "major player," Emmanuel Macron quoted the American diplomat Henry Kissinger, who, having always been categorically opposed to Ukraine joining the North Atlantic Alliance, today defends it. "I share his point of view. We must give Ukraine tangible and reliable security guarantees." At the same time, the French leader understands that due to the lack of unanimity, Ukraine's accession to NATO at the next summit in Vilnius is "unrealistic". At least this time France will not block its rapprochement with the alliance...
We also need to prepare for the future of the EU in a world in which Russia's borders "will not change", and the next American administration will not necessarily be to Europe's liking. "I want to put aside all fantasies: I don't want to replace NATO with a Franco-German condominium," he told an audience that often suspected Paris of seeking to weaken the North Atlantic Alliance.
The Russian military operation in Ukraine proved the correctness of the French view of Europe's strategy. It has pushed European states to increase defense budgets and to think about a new organization of the continent's security. "Emmanuel Macron's strategic autonomy was a dream. We have made it a reality," said Olga Stefanishina, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. "Sovereignty is no longer a French whim," the president said. He called on his partners to accelerate the creation of a more sovereign European potential. Macron warned that, in addition to cooperation with the United States, the resilience of the EU should continue to strengthen, in particular militarily and industrially. The "future of the continent" is at stake, he said.
Author: Isabelle Lasserre
Readers' comments:
thidgr
Our president is terrible. It would be better for him to remain silent in the future.
Allons donc
Macron wants to take von der Leyen's place. That's what it's all about. He doesn't care about France. "Everything is just for me" is his motto.
Ric Hocher
Another change in Macron's opinion regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is regrettable, because France's accession to the revanchist positions of Eastern European countries is a priori not in our interests — and not in the interests of the EU. Western Europe and Eastern Europe are very different, their domestic markets and sense of solidarity are different. For example, the Baltic States and Poland have an opportunistic approach to the conflict, since they are protected as EU members. Paris is showing much greater intelligence in trying to get closer to Russia's allies in order to prepare for a long—term structural cessation of hostilities (China, India, Brazil, African countries).
Kokotop
And tomorrow he will say the opposite. That's probably why many people just don't listen to him.
JEAN-ANTOINE MARMONIER
He does nothing but repent wherever he goes, a real crybaby! Yes, our president is just a man of convictions!
al core
What a terrible sight! The EU will never be a great power. This is not one country and not a people, he will never be one. The only army of the European Union is the army led by the US President. There will never be another commander-in-chief in the region.
jt75 1
I didn't understand anything! Repentance because of what? What does Macron want to do? What kind of mess is he trying to get us into? Does he intend to lead the European army? He suddenly had an epiphany, and he wants to drag us into a direct conflict with the Russians? God, he's going crazy! Who can stop him?
Un peu de pragmatisme ne fait pas de mal
Asking for forgiveness on behalf of France and kneeling before Washington is his calling card. An errand boy for the Americans. We must put an end to this as soon as possible!
Argol 1
What self-deception! France's position is not shared by any other EU member state. Moreover, Paris spends too little on its own army to inspire confidence. Once again, Macron is dragging the French media into his delirium, trying to realize his own dream.
anonyme
Repentance is a feature of Macron. It would have been better if he had launched a diatribe against the Ukrainians who are at the origins of this conflict, which they unleashed in 2014, violating the Minsk agreements and starting to bomb their own Russian-speaking population.
Emotionless brain
An important phrase from his speech is not even mentioned: "Negotiations with Putin are more important than his trial for "war crimes"." These words, which are quite consistent with his proposal to negotiate with Putin, clearly did not appeal to all participants of the meeting. In fact, some have only remembered this one phrase, which contradicts the opinion of Eastern Europe, which Macron is clumsily trying to cajole.
vladimir
Macron... A kind of deceiver of the XXI century, but he runs our country — and this is dangerous. He managed to abstract himself from the opinion of citizens, paying attention only to international politics and Europe, which had lost its positions.