Et is 12:25 a.m. when the Chancellor’s motorcade leaves the Elysée Palace. Olaf Scholz (SPD) didn’t need to be asked twice when Emmanuel Macron invited him to spontaneously come to Paris on Wednesday morning. Before Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speech to the members of the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday, the aim was to demonstrate Franco-German unity. Doubts had arisen about that.
The Franco-German Council of Ministers on January 22 seemed like a missed opportunity for Macron and Scholz to lead in Europe. Scholz had the decision on the supply of main battle tanks pierced 48 hours after a meaningless press conference at Macron’s side to the “Spiegel”. Zelenskyj said on Wednesday evening in the Elysée Palace that Germany and France could be “game changers” in the war: “France and Germany can turn the tide. (…) The sooner we have long-range weapons and modern aircraft, the sooner Russia’s aggression will end.”
The war president wore an olive long-sleeved shirt with camouflage pants. Macron reminded him of his last visit to the Elysée in December 2019: At that time, Selenskyj had negotiated with Putin in the so-called Normandy format until shortly after midnight – without any result. Angela Merkel, who was in talks with Macron at the time, was received by Macron for a private dinner this week. Whether the two admitted to mistakes in dealing with Putin remains their secret. Zelenskyy expressed his opinion in Le Figaro: The Normandy format was doomed to fail. In truth, it was about making concessions to Putin so that Paris and Berlin could “freeze” the conflict.
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor for Zelenskyy
Selenskyj landed at Orly Airport shortly before 10 p.m. in a British government plane and was received by French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu. He was accompanied by a camera as he drove through nocturnal Paris to the Elysée Palace: the illuminated Eiffel Tower, the Invalides – only to see the golden domes of the new Russian cathedral on the banks of the Seine, which testify to the long-influential Putin lobby, the column made a wide detour.
Shortly before his surprise trip from London via Paris to Brussels, Selenskyj had criticized the Franco-German appeasement policy towards Moscow in an interview with “Le Figaro”. “One day before the invasion, Germany and France claimed that Putin had promised them that he would not attack Ukraine!” Zelenskyy said. He also hinted at why his gratitude went to Washington and London in particular: “But what about the others? What have they given us since 2014? What did they do to save us from attack?”
But the war forced Macron to correct course. “I think he’s really changed this time. After all, he was the one who opened the door for tank deliveries. He also supported Ukraine’s candidacy in the EU,” said Zelenskyy. Regarding the Federal Chancellor, he remembered that some “govern more slowly and also slow down the bureaucracy”. “So the hesitation about the tanks had nothing to do with money, values or even deadlines, because Berlin delivered the Iris-T air defense system to us faster than expected, since Olaf Scholz had forced his industry to work faster. The question of the tanks was a political decision, just like the sanctions.”
“Until victory, peace and Europe,” France will stand by Ukraine, Macron said on Wednesday evening. Chancellor Scholz did not adopt the phrase “until victory”. “We stand closely by Ukraine’s side for as long as necessary,” said Scholz. When he left the Elysée Palace well after midnight, the evening was not over for Selenskyj. In a brief ceremony, Macron decorated him with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, the highest degree foreign heads of state can receive. On Thursday morning, Macron took Zelenskyy on his plane to Brussels. Chancellor Scholz had already traveled to Brussels that night.