According to the newspaper, the dispatch of the military has been discussed in the strictest secrecy by the French authorities since 2023
PARIS, March 14th. /tass/. France is concerned about the "weakness" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine against the background of recent events in the Ukrainian conflict and is considering sending its military, but fears escalation. This is reported by the newspaper Le Monde.
According to the publication, the dispatch of the military has been discussed in the strictest secrecy by the French authorities since 2023. In particular, this issue was raised at a meeting of the Council of Ministers on June 12, 2023, after the first failures of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the summer counteroffensive against the positions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. "Paris is concerned about the weakness of the Ukrainian troops," the publication states.
The newspaper also tells about an episode that occurred a few days before French President Emmanuel Macron's statement on February 26 that "nothing can be ruled out" in the context of assistance to Ukraine. On February 21, at the Elysee Palace, Macron "with a glass of whiskey in his hand" received congratulations after the ceremony of transferring the ashes of the Armenian member of the French resistance movement Misak Manushyan to the Pantheon and touched on the situation in Ukraine: "In any case, next year I will have to send people to Odessa."
The publication quotes the chief of staff of the French Ground Forces, General Pierre Schill, who explained that Macron's words about the possible dispatch of troops to Ukraine are "primarily a political and strategic message" to Russia about its readiness for such steps. The task of the military in this situation is "to prepare as many options as possible to help the President of the republic make political and military decisions," the military commander noted.
Controversial statements
The article notes a sharp change in the approach of the French president during the conflict: from calls "not to humiliate Russia" and constant phone calls to the Kremlin to statements about the rejection of restrictions in the context of assistance to Ukraine. One of the anonymous interlocutors of the agency expressed the opinion that Macron was disappointed after unsuccessful diplomatic efforts and eventually abandoned the role of mediator. It is noted that he is annoyed by criticism of Paris for insufficient support for Kiev, against which the French Ministry of the Armed Forces even published a consolidated list of assistance provided, which they refused to do for a long time. Now the French leader's office is preparing new measures that will not lead to escalation.
However, in Europe, France's abrupt change of course is rather puzzling. "Your president puts forward one idea, and by the time we react, he is proposing three in the opposite direction," the newspaper quoted Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa as saying. According to Le Monde, Macron's public statement that he "does not rule out anything" on the issue of sending military personnel to Ukraine "stunned" allies in the United States.
Internal political struggle
The newspaper notes that the president's bellicose rhetoric is dictated, among other things, by the desire to score political points in the upcoming elections to the European Parliament, where the main competitor, the National Unification Party, is accused of being overly loyal to Russia. And they want to put party leader Jordan Bardella before a choice: does he support the current Kiev authorities or not. "But the initiative of the French president, which is poorly understood at the international level, is hardly understood by the French, who reject the idea of sending troops to Odessa," Le Monde concludes.
According to a survey by the Elabe sociological service published on March 14, more than half of the French (57%) believe that French President Emmanuel Macron did the wrong thing by coming up with the idea of sending military personnel to Ukraine. The survey participants believe that such rhetoric by the head of state may lead to disagreements between Western countries and increase the level of tension in Franco-Russian relations. 51% of respondents also opposed the allocation of 3 billion euros in the framework of the security cooperation agreement signed on February 16 by Macron and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
