The French President gave an in-depth interview to the British weekly ‘The Economist’, published on Thursday, focusing in particular on international security and defence issues

The French President had already raised this possibility in February, suggesting that Western troops could be sent to Ukraine. In an interview with The Economist published on Thursday 2 April, Emmanuel Macron reiterates that this option is not ruled out if Russia ‘were to cross the front lines’ and if Kiev were to request it.

‘If the Russians were to advance beyond the front lines and if Ukraine were to request it – which is not the case at the moment – we should legitimately ask ourselves the question’, he declared.

He also stressed the importance of not ruling out this option from the outset, pointing out that NATO countries had initially ruled out sending tanks and aircraft to Ukraine before reconsidering their position, drawing lessons from recent events.

Emmanuel Macron caused controversy at the end of February when he said that sending Western troops to Ukraine should not be ruled out in the future, in an attempt to reintroduce some ‘strategic ambiguity’ into Europe’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling for a ‘leap forward’.

However, most European countries, as well as the United States, strongly disassociated themselves from his remarks, although some have since adopted a more nuanced position. On the Russian side, the Deputy Speaker of the Duma threatened to ‘kill all French soldiers’.

Emmanuel Macron also stressed in The Economist that Europe had developed ‘a real strategy of autonomy’ since the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. He also reaffirms that Russia ‘excludes nothing’, which he believes justifies the need for Europe to exclude nothing either, in the face of an aggressor like Vladimir Putin.

He puts forward a clear strategic objective: Russia must not win in Ukraine, as this would compromise the security of Europe as a whole. He underlines what is at stake for Ukraine’s neighbours and stresses the need for Europe to leave no stone unturned in dealing with this threat.