Macron responded by arguing that setting any limits on how to respond to Moscow’s actions meant “opting for defeat.” The French president spent much of the interview arguing in favor of remaining ambiguous, saying only that France would not “lead the offensive or take initiative.”
“I’m right about not being specific,” Macron said.
Macron was also asked about his current relation to Putin — to whom he has not spoken in months, he said — and insisted that the war should not be treated as a personal issue.
“This isn’t a novel or a soap opera. As we speak, men and women are dying in Ukraine under President Putin’s watch,” Macron said.
Earlier this week, French lawmakers in both houses voted in favor of a security agreement which reaffirmed France’s support for Ukraine’s NATO bid and pledged financial and military support to Kyiv.
But French public opinion does not appear to support Macron. In an Odoxa poll, 68 percent of French respondents said Macron’s comments on Western troops in Ukraine were “wrong.”
