France is responding to Russia's intensified military offensive in Ukraine with a "total economic and financial war" against Russian interests.

Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire announced this on Tuesday on the France Info radio station.

“We will wage a total economic and financial war against Russia.

We are targeting the heart of Putin's power system," Le Maire said.

"We will collapse the Russian economy," he said.

The French government wants to change the legislation in order to be able to freeze Russian assets and real estate in France beyond the previously possible one-year period.

The list of sanctions against Russian oligarchs published by the EU is to be expanded to include other Russian Putin supporters known in France.

Le Maire confirmed

that its authorities drew up appropriate lists.

He apologized for his language on Tuesday afternoon.

According to Le Maire, the term “total financial and economic war” was “inappropriate”.

Michael Wiegel

Political correspondent based in Paris.

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After President Emmanuel Macron's recent phone call with the head of the Kremlin, there is no longer any hope in Paris that Moscow will give in.

According to the Elysee, Putin "locked himself in a logic of confrontation".

During his almost six-hour conversation in the Kremlin, Macron experienced a president who was not willing to make concessions.

However, Macron sees it as his job to show Putin at every opportunity that there are options other than the "worst option".

Tensions with “regular and irregular armed forces”

Putin clearly signaled to Macron during the phone call on Monday that he was ready to take the war "to the heart of Europe" and "close to our borders," according to the Elysee.

It is to be expected that Russian missiles will be stationed in Belarus.

The NATO-Russia Founding Act was terminated by the Russian war of aggression.

In the Elysée, the probability that the conflict will spread is rated as very high.

That's one of the insights Macron gained from the phone call with Putin.

France fears destabilization in Moldova and Georgia, as well as Russian provocations in NATO reassurance operations in countries on the eastern flank.

In an unusual move, Macron addressed all army personnel directly to warn them about Russian provocations.

The French constitution gives the president the role of supreme army chief.

In his "Letter to the Army," Macron stressed that French forces at sea, subsea, air, space and ground were experiencing "tensions" with "regular and irregular Russian forces."

“Irregular forces” mean the Wagner militias, which threaten French interests, especially in Mali.

According to unconfirmed reports, Wagner militias are said to be trying to kill President Zelenskyy in Kyiv for a high bounty.

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said France wanted to help Zelenskyy stay safe.

At the same time, the Elysée emphasizes:

Embassy in Kyiv is closing

Macron warned all members of the army that Russian provocations should not lead to "uncontrollable incidents".

"High vigilance and restraint" are necessary.

The letter expresses the President's concern that Putin could use an incident as an excuse to expand the war to a NATO partner.

Several hundred French soldiers have arrived in Romania.

France has put 8,300 soldiers on alert as part of the NATO Response Force.

The French Army currently commands the ground component of the NATO Response Force.

It is the first time in the history of the NATO Response Force that it has been deployed.

The pessimistic assessment of the situation in Paris has made France the last Western country to temporarily close its embassy in Kyiv.

Ambassador Etienne de Montaigne de Poncins held his position in the Ukrainian capital, which was under fire, until Monday.

But Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian ordered on Monday evening that the ambassador and the rest of the staff move to Lviv (Lemberg).

"We are all impressed by the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian nation," wrote the ambassador on his departure from Kyiv.

President Macron intends to comment on the question of Ukraine's EU membership "in due course".

It is already clear that the war will change the entire EU.

A new division of the continent, or at least a permanent break with Russia, is becoming apparent.

It is therefore important to unite all countries that share a European feeling of togetherness, says the Elysee.