Expected at the turning point on the subject of French aid to Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron must clarify his positions during an interview on the 20 Hours television news on TF1 and France 2. Will he make other announcements?
Emmanuel Macron returns to the exercise of the television interview. The President of the Republic decided to address the French during the 20 Hours newscasts on TF1 and France 2, this Thursday, March 14, live from the Elysée Palace. No mystery about the main subject of the interview: the war in Ukraine and France’s support for kyiv. The idea of ??the Head of State seems to expose to the French the new issues of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and France’s involvement in it and to seize the opportunity to return to his controversial remarks on the possible sending troops to Ukraine.
The question of French support for Ukraine has been at the heart of political discussions for several weeks, revived by the declarations made by Emmanuel Macron on February 26 and not excluding any measure to help kyiv against Russia. After consulting opposition leaders strongly opposed to the idea, like Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen for the National Rally, Emmanuel Macron let Parliament express itself on support for Ukraine. Both the National Assembly and the Senate mostly voted in favor of the security agreement concluded with Volodymyr Zelensky, but without consensus on the subject of sending troops.
After these meetings and political decisions, “it is legitimate and natural that Emmanuel Macron can address the French (…) to say, eye to eye, what is the state of the situation and how to organize things in the weeks to come” declared a person close to the Elysée to AFP.
Since his very controversial statement, Emmanuel Macron has continued to clarify his remarks on sending troops to Ukraine. For him “nothing is excluded”, but the question has not yet been resolved and no shipment is yet planned. The Head of State was able to count on his Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, who strove to defuse the situation and assured that if the sending of troops became clear, there would be no question of mobilizing soldiers on the front but rather trainers and specialists to advise Ukrainian strategies. The Ukrainian president himself told the French on BFMTV on March 11: “Your children are not going to die in Ukraine.”
Despite these clarifications, the logic of “strategic ambiguity” used by Emmanuel Macron, which consists of deterring the enemy by remaining vague on the strength of a possible response, has above all destabilized the French. Will the President of the Republic succeed in reassuring public opinion?
Before sending troops, which is still only an idea mentioned by Emmanuel Macron, the security agreement provides for several measures which should be detailed by the Head of State during the interview, such as strengthening cooperation. military, particularly for artillery and air defense. The president should also explain the main axes and justify the amount allocated for aid to Ukraine which was set at three billion euros. He could finally return to France’s overall commitment to Ukraine over the coming years, the agreement having been concluded for a period of ten years.
Three months before the European elections, Emmanuel Macron’s interview will also mark the head of state’s entry into the campaign. Especially since he will speak at the end of the first debate organized, on Public Senate from 5 p.m., between the heads of the list in the race for the elections. Only the National Rally candidate, Jordan Bardella, will be missing and will be replaced by Thierry Mariani.
Emmanuel Macron and his majority having decided to impose the subject of the war in Ukraine as one of the main axes of the electoral campaign, the head of state could want to respond to certain comments made during the debate. The objective is in particular to point out the positions of the RN, accused of being too vague or even pro-Russian, to try to reverse the trend in the polls which give the advantage to the extreme right.
