‘He talks more than he does’: Macron wants to be a leader in supporting Ukraine – Bloomberg

French President Emmanuel Macron has emerged as Europe’s leading voice on Ukraine and has taken a leading role in countering Russia’s aggression, but not all of his allies are confident he is the best defender of their interests. Bloomberg writes about this.

“His hawkish approach angered some allies. Even before he posted ‘Raging Bull’ poses on Instagram, the French president’s new aggressive stance was clear when he managed to publicly reject sending troops to Ukraine,” the publication writes.

Important

Macron’s comments about the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine drew public criticism from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and privately angered U.S. officials who said such a move could lead to a conflict with Moscow, a senior official said.

“By forcing Berlin to publicly rule out the possibility of sending troops, Macron has managed to eliminate long-term uncertainty regarding the location of the allies’ red lines,” the source said.

The publication writes that the game also covers the internal politics of France. Macron is putting Ukraine at the forefront of his campaign for European Parliament elections in June, portraying his far-right rival Marine Le Pen as an ally of Putin.

“There is no doubt that some EU prime ministers are looking forward to Macron’s leadership, and many are welcoming his tough stance on Russia. At the same time, France has backed Poland by demanding that the EU reconsider allowing Ukrainian grain to flow freely into the country . Single market sparks farmers’ protests. Critics of the French president say he talks more than he does,” writes Bloomberg.

Czech President Petr Pavel, who announced that ammunition would be purchased for Ukraine and started working on it, gives an example as an example, while Macron states that although he states that he supports the Czech initiative, France has not yet made a financial contribution. Germany, on the contrary, is spending 300 million euros ($325 million) to purchase 180,000 bullets.

Since the beginning of the war, France has lagged significantly behind its allies in the total amount of aid sent to Ukraine.

“Macron missed the opportunity to decisively seize European leadership at the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He is now taking steps to correct this mistake,” said Reem Momtaz, a Paris-based researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Let us recall that the French political scientist Nicolas Tenzer explained the new strategy and listed the reasons that became the turning point in the change of views of the French president.

It was previously reported that France was considering sending military personnel to Ukraine and was deciding for what purpose this would be done.