PARIS, March 22. /TASS/. French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to send troops to Ukraine could lead to a direct armed confrontation with Russia, MEP Jordan Bardella, leader of the National Union party, said.
"The president’s words are causing great anxiety and concern among the French people. They may lead to a direct war with Russia," he said on the France Info radio station. According to the politician, the French population "has no interest" in confronting a nuclear power, so it is necessary to be "extremely cautious" here.
Bardella noted that Macron’s recent statements about deploying troops to Ukraine concern not only "many French people," but also opposition political parties.
On February 26, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that during a meeting in Paris where representatives of around 20 Western states discussed further support for Kiev in the conflict with Moscow, the possibility of sending ground troops to Ukraine was raised. According to the French leader, participants did not reach a consensus on this issue, but such a scenario cannot be ruled out in the future. He later clarified his statement, explaining that "not ruling something out does not mean doing it." After the conference, representatives of most participating countries stated that they do not plan to send troops to Ukraine and are against their involvement in combat actions against Russia.
On March 19, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin said that France was already preparing a military contingent to be sent to Ukraine, which would initially amount to about 2,000 soldiers. After that, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces made a statement on the social network X that what Naryshkin said did not correspond to reality.