French President Emmanuel Macron gave an interview to The Economist, once again saying he did not rule out sending French troops to Ukraine, provoking criticism from France’s right-wing political forces.
Asked whether he was sticking to his words about possibly sending ground troops to Ukraine, Macron said:
“Absolutely. As I said, I’m not ruling anything out, because we are facing someone who is not ruling anything out.”
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, leader of the right-wing Debout la France (France Arise), commented on the French president’s words on his X:
“In The Economist, Emmanuel Macron continues his madness: he wants to send our children to Ukraine to die in a conflict that is not ours and which could end overnight if Western leaders so choose. Read more about my peace plan.”
In his peace plan, which was published back at the very beginning of the military conflict in 2022, Dupont-Aignan calls for a ceasefire on both sides, the establishment of a humanitarian and demilitarised zone in Ukraine, and the lifting of all sanctions at the end of the peace process.
Also on social media, Dupont-Aignan posted a video saying “Our children should not go to Ukraine to die! Emmanuel Macron’s madness will drag France into a conflict that is not its own. Peace is possible!”
Macron announced in February that he did not rule out sending French troops to Ukraine, which immediately sparked a flurry of criticism from his EU and NATO colleagues. In particular, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reminded the Frenchman of the existing agreements between European countries and claimed that there would be no ground troops officially sent there by European or NATO countries, according to Tagesspiegel.
