During a live interview on French national television on Thursday, March 14, Presidential Emmanuel Macron said a Russian victory in Ukraine "would reduce Europe's credibility to zero." He was speaking about how to further support Ukraine, not long after he provoked international outcry when he did not rule out sending French troops to Ukraine.
Speaking on TF1 and France 2, Macron said the war was "existential for Europe and for France." He said that "we will never lead an offensive, never take the initiative," and emphasized that France was a "force for peace."
If Russia were to win, "Europe's credibility would be reduced to zero," Macron said. He said that the continent's security was "at stake" in the conflict which he said "is existential for our Europe and for France."
"Today," the French president said, "to have peace in Ukraine, we must not be weak, and so we must look at the situation lucidly, and we must with determination, will and courage, say that we are ready to reach the means to achieve our objective, which is that Russia does not win."
The interview came after France's Assemblée Nationale debated Macron's Ukraine strategy on Tuesday. French lawmakers approved the government's support for Ukraine, including a bilateral security agreement that was signed by Macron and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky last month.
With the symbolic vote, Macron forced political parties to take a public stance on the conflict as Russia's invasion of Ukraine stretches into its third year. The far-right Rassemblement National (RN), which polls say is ahead of Macron's coalition by a wide margin in the June European elections, abstained, while the radical-left La France Insoumise party voted against.