France: the vote of support for Ukraine promises tumultuous debates in the National Assembly

The vote will be symbolic, but the debates promise to be tumultuous.

This Tuesday, March 12, French deputies will debate the military aid that France should provide to Ukraine.

But above all, this vote risks confronting the majority, the RN and LFI in a stormy atmosphere.

This debate is taking place against the backdrop of the European campaign.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal at the National Assembly on February 27, 2024. © Stéphane de Sakutin / AFP

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If the government wants to display its “

 voluntarism

 ”, the oppositions denounce the “go to war” positions of

President Macron

.

The French

aid strategy

for Ukraine, discussed during a debate, will be followed by a symbolic vote in the Assembly.

This occasion will above all serve as a confrontation between Macronists, RN and LFI, three months before the European elections.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal set the tone on Saturday in Lille

during the presidential camp meeting

.

His attacks were concentrated against the Le Pen clan.

For the RN, against Russia, all weakness, all weakness is good

 ,” he said.

This offensive questions the National Rally as to the true objective of this debate.

“ 

The fact that the vote does not concern the agreement itself is very strange, since it is not very clear what the government could decide or not.

It’s a funny way of doing things

 ,” declared Jean-Philippe Tanguy on

Charlotte Urien-Tomaka

’s microphone . 

At the RN,

which is plunging in the polls

before the June 9 election, caution is required in the face of this “ 

trap

 ”.

“ 

We will decide on our vote on D-Day, after Gabriel Attal’s declaration

 ,” underlines a close friend of Marine Le Pen.

 Things pose a problem for us in the agreement, on Ukraine's accession to the EU or NATO

 ” and “

 we want there to be a commitment from the Prime Minister which excludes the sending of troops on the ground 

,” insists this manager.

Read alsoFrance: facing opposition parties, Macron assumes his position on Ukraine

Oppositions generally reject sending ground troops to Ukraine

On the left, MP Arnaud Le Gall, responsible for international issues at LFI, accuses Emmanuel Macron of taking very serious risks with his statements.

 The government does not want to discuss the security agreements between France and Ukraine.

He wants Parliament to provide symbolic support for the irresponsible headlong rush of the President of the Republic, who raised the possibility of going to war directly against Russia by talking about sending troops.

This is unacceptable, we must say stop

 ,” he said.

On Ukraine, France Insoumise also regularly insists on its “

 total disagreement 

” with the head of the Socialist Party list for the European elections, Raphaël Glucksmann, whom the Insoumises present as a “

 go-to-war

 ” with positions close to those of Emmanuel Macron.

As for the majority, they see it as

a moment of truth

.

Two years after the outbreak of war, the Macronists hope to make this session a “ 

moment of truth 

” and display their “

 voluntarism

 ” in favor of Ukraine.

 This is about clarifying the positions of different political groups on support for the Ukrainian resistance.

It is absolutely fundamental to see a little bit how the different political groups position themselves

 ,” explained Anne Genetet, Renaissance MP. 

After the Assembly, a similar debate will be held in the Senate this Wednesday. 

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