Macron has fired his bazooka again – and Russia isn’t the only target
Macron has fired his bazooka again – and Russia isn’t the only target
With talk of sending troops to Ukraine, the French president is asking how far the west will go to stop Putin. But his bombshell could backfire, says Paul Taylor, a senior fellow of the Friends of Europe thinktank
Emmanuel Macron sure knows how to make a headline.
But did the French president, who once called Nato brain dead, really mean it when he said this week that Europe shouldn’t rule out sending ground troops to Ukraine to prevent Russia winning the war? Was it a trial balloon, an off-the-cuff soundbite uncoordinated with allies, or the start of a real strategic debate?
As ever, Macron’s bazooka had several targets: forcing European partners to consider how far they are prepared to go to avert a Russian victory; pressuring the US to go on arming Ukraine; keeping the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, off balance; hitting back at German criticism of France’s modest spending on assistance to Kyiv; and trying to wrongfoot domestic opponents in the forthcoming European parliament election campaign.
Above all, the French leader was grasping for the mantle of leadership of European and western support for Ukraine, just as US assistance is stymied by a Republican blockade in Congress at the behest of Donald Trump before the presidential election campaign.
Well, I guess it’s more entertaining than “slammed” or “blasted”. I’ll keep it.
I also would have accepted “Macron gives Russia a Cleveland Steamer”