A victory for Russia would be “a cataclysm” for the French: Prime Minister Gabriel Attal came to defend the aid strategy for Ukraine on Tuesday before the deputies, who should largely support it, despite divisions on the left and the abstention from the National Rally. In a “tipping point in the conflict”, the head of government kicked off the debates at 4:30 p.m. by paying “tribute to the exceptional resistance of the Ukrainian people”, applauded by the standing deputies.
He insisted on the “concrete” and “tangible” risks of a Russian victory on the “daily life” of the French, a “cataclysm for their purchasing power”: “food inflation to the tenth power, an explosion in food prices energy to the power of ten”. Voting against the French aid strategy would be “turning our back on our history”. “To abstain is to flee,” he said, targeting LFI and RN. The head of government also promised the upcoming delivery of 150 drones, 100 remotely operated munitions, and 6 Caesar cannons.
“Trial in Russophilia”
“We do not set limits against Russia, which does not set any limits,” he underlined, after the controversial declarations of Emmanuel Macron, who did not exclude the sending of Western troops to the ground. The outcome of the vote should be largely favorable, with the support of the Les Républicains (LR) group, socialists and environmentalists. The RN should be widely targeted by the majority during the debates, in the middle of the European campaign.
“These Russophilia trials” are “there to distract voters from the real issues”, sweeps away the RN Sébastien Chenu, whose party is prances in the polls, with more than ten points ahead of the Macronist candidate Valérie Hayer. Marine Le Pen’s group will “abstain” in the vote, announced its president Jordan Bardella, citing “red lines” including the sending of ground troops and the possible membership of Ukraine in NATO. and the European Union.
“Abstention is a form of ambiguity. We can clearly see that in this debate, the RN is embarrassed,” reacted LR boss Eric Ciotti for whom “we must be alongside the Ukrainians”. In his statement, the head of government defended the Franco-Ukrainian security agreement of February 16. Concluded for a period of ten years, it includes a strengthening of military cooperation, particularly in the areas of artillery and air defense. In 2024, Paris promises to provide “up to three billion euros of additional support”.
“Opposed to France being the leader of the war camp”
“These three billion are not a check to Ukraine. They correspond to the maximum value of our military aid in 2024, in particular to orders placed with our French defense industries,” explained Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu. Three months before the June 9 election, aid to Ukraine has become one of the key themes of the European campaign, particularly since Emmanuel Macron’s comments at the end of February who did not rule out sending ground troops and does not want to put “any limits” on support for kyiv.
Since these declarations which have sparked strong controversies in France and Europe, particularly with Germany, Sébastien Lecornu has assured that the sending of “fighting ground troops was not on the table and President Volodymyr Zelensky has wanted to be reassuring on Monday by telling French media that “as long as Ukraine holds, the French army can remain on French territory”. But this presidential posture is invoked by LFI to justify its vote against. “We are opposed to this that France be the leader of the war camp”, according to its coordinator Manuel Bompard. The Insoumis also explain that they are hostile to the possible enlargement of NATO and the EU to Ukraine.
“Do you really think NATO is an aggressor of Russia?”
Same speech among the communists. “We are not going to say no to solidarity with Ukraine but no to the escalation of war,” argued MP Sébastien Jumel. The divergence is clear on the left with the socialists. “Do you really think that NATO is an aggressor of Russia? The pacifists are in the West, but the missiles are in the East (…)”, launched their first secretary Olivier Faure to the address of the Rebels and communists. Vladimir Putin “does not want to negotiate” and is waiting for the return of Donald Trump, he judged.
“Our line is clear: for support for Ukraine, for the delivery of weapons, for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, against any sending of ground troops,” affirmed for her part the head of environmentalist deputies, Cyrielle Chatelain.