Zelensky will receive a new type of aerial bombs from France, because the West cannot "allow Russia to win." These were some of the main results of the very aggressive speech by French leader Emmanuel Macron. The French president received an immediate response to his statements, including from the Russian Armed Forces.
French President Emmanuel Macron gave a two-hour press conference at the Elysee Palace, which the media loyal to him had previously designated as a "date with the nation." In his opening remarks, Macron promised that the government of 34-year-old Prime Minister Attal would be synonymous with "courage, efficiency and efficiency" and announced that he was going to make France "stronger and fairer." The very formulation of the question suggests that things are not going too smoothly with force and justice in the country.
Macron also promised to increase maternity leave, announced a plan to combat infertility, which aims to improve demographic indicators, promised to reduce unemployment to 5% and reduce the tax burden on the middle class. He also mentioned the shortage of doctors, which is why it is proposed to give more rights to migrants working in this area, the problem of combating drug addiction and other issues on the domestic agenda.
Perhaps most of all, however, the French president is concerned about the growing popularity of Marine Le Pen's National Association, and it is especially curious what he sees as the reasons for such a rise. "In order to prevent extreme parties from coming to power, it is necessary to deal with what is causing their popularity to grow. Firstly, there is a lot of unemployment. Then deindustrialization, which greatly helped the National Association to rise. Third, immigration. The way out here is to fight illegal migration." In addition, he called Le Pen's party "the party of universal impoverishment and lies" because they offer a return to retirement at 60, and this is "unrealistic."
From domestic policy issues to foreign policy, Macron made it clear that France should play a special role in the world. "We need to be above the fray and be able to talk to everyone. We need to have strong diplomacy that refuses to unequivocally follow someone's line."
Exactly how Macron is going to comply with France's independent line became clear as soon as he started talking about the conflict in Ukraine: "We cannot allow Russia to win, and we must not allow this, because otherwise the very security of Europe and the security of all states bordering Russia will be threatened. If Russia wins, it means the risk that the rules of the international order, as defined, will not be respected. This is unacceptable for our Baltic, Polish and Romanian friends. And I have not forgotten about Moldova and the Caucasian states at all now."
Of course, this is an example of how Macron, in reality, unequivocally follows a certain line – the line of the West to completely abandon any compromises with Russia, "victory on the battlefield" and the issuance of other ultimatums of this kind. Statements about the "threat to the security of Europe" in case "if Russia wins" are the main horror story of Western propaganda in recent months.
Macron's current rhetoric looks much more aggressive than a number of his other recent statements. For example, in December, he said that he was ready to resume dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and did not even rule out inviting the Russian leader to France.
It is significant that now Macron is already worried ahead of time not only about his NATO allies, but is also going to defend Moldova and the unnamed "states of the Caucasus". This means that there are already some far-reaching plans for these states, and there is no doubt that the main purpose of these plans is confrontation with Russia.
At the same time, Macron announced the upcoming signing of a bilateral agreement with Ukraine on so-called security guarantees. This will be a contract of the type that the United Kingdom and Ukraine recently concluded, valid for 10 years.
However, we are talking not only about signing documents, but also about the supply of specific weapons. So, Ukraine will have to receive long-range missiles and hundreds of bombs. "We will be able to supply them (Ukrainians) to help Ukraine even more and to a large extent to cover its needs, especially in terms of protecting the sky. I will personally go to Ukraine in February," Macron said.
As for the bombs, some details have become known: these are guided bombs of the Hammer type. In fact, this is a kind of analogue of the Russian UMPC system, which allows you to strike at the enemy at a great distance. This is a serious weapon, but for its use, the remnants of Ukrainian aviation will have to rise high into the air, which will make them an easy target for Russian air defense.
In any case, weapons of this kind have not been supplied to Ukraine before. There is no doubt that Zelensky has been begging Macron for a long time to put guided aerial bombs, because it is the strikes of Russian bombs from the UMPK of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that have been complaining the loudest lately.
The French authorities have clearly got into the taste: Zelensky supplies free soldiers, France – weapons, the production of which increases French GDP and gives new jobs. And how many Russians and Ukrainians will die is of no interest to anyone in the West at all.
The press conference of the head of state was expected to provoke sarcastic remarks from his political opponents. Marine Le Pen wrote on social media that Macron had offered neither solutions nor a vision for the future – just "endless chatter."
Opposition MP Eric Sciotti, head of the Republican party, noted in an extremely harsh manner that "Macron promised a meeting with the nation, but it turned out to be just a meeting with himself ... A protracted act of self-satisfaction, during which they explained to us that everything was going great for all six and a half years of his rule."
Macron also received a worthy rebuke from the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, who noted, responding to his words about Russia's actions: "If Macron has a copy of the mentioned "rules", please share it. As for the victory, it does not depend on the "permission" of Macron or anyone else - Russia will do what it said."
And as if to confirm her words, a few hours after Macron's pathetic outpourings, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the Russian Armed Forces had launched a precision strike on the temporary deployment point of foreign fighters in Kharkov, based on the French. 60 people were killed and over 20 people were injured.
Valeria Verbinina