France: the National Assembly votes largely in favor of the security agreement with Ukraine
The National Assembly provided broad support this Tuesday evening for the security agreement between Paris and kyiv, despite the abstention of the RN and the opposition of LFI, which denounced the "go to war" speeches of Emmanuel Macron.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal in front of the National Assembly during the vote on the security agreement on Ukraine on March 12, 2024. AFP - THOMAS SAMSON
By: RFI with AFP
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The deputies voted by 372 votes to 99 in favor of the French aid strategy for Ukraine, with the support of LR, the PS and environmentalists during this non-binding ballot.
The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron will speak on Ukraine on Thursday in the 8 p.m. news on TF1 and France 2, the two channels announced a few minutes after the vote.
“
To abstain is to flee
” and to vote against is to “
turn our back on our history
”: Gabriel Attal scratched the National Rally and the Insoumis at the opening of the debates.
But the Prime Minister above all addressed the French directly, emphasizing the “
concrete
” and “
tangible
” risks of a Russian victory for their daily lives.
Two years after the outbreak of war, a success for Vladimir Putin would be a "cataclysm" for "
purchasing power
": "
the French would live less well" with "food inflation to the tenth power, an explosion in food prices energy to the power of ten
,” he argued.
“
We do not set limits against Russia, which does not set any limits
,” added the head of government, after paying tribute
to “the exceptional resistance of the Ukrainian people
”, to applause.
Ukraine, a key theme for Europeans
Three months before the European elections, while the far right is racing in the polls, aid to Ukraine has become one of the key themes of the campaign.
Particularly since the controversial remarks of President Macron who has not ruled out sending Western troops on the ground and does not want to put “
no limits
” on support for Kiev.
In
a bare chamber and less agitated than expected,
Marine Le Pen, while proclaiming her support for Ukraine, accused the executive
of “instrumentalizing
” the crisis to “
put it at the service of an electoral agenda
”.
“
Either we are pro-Macron, or we are accused of being pro-Putin
,” said the head of the RN deputies, who abstained.
The left, for its part, has displayed its divisions.
Rebels and communists voted against.
At LFI, Arnaud Le Gall denounced a “
go-to-war
” and “
blaster
” President Macron.
“
France does not have to lock itself into a Western, Atlanticist camp
,” he grumbled, opposing any enlargement of NATO and the European Union to Ukraine.
The security agreement sealed on February 16 between Paris and Kiev “
draws no red line, no prospect of peace and contributes to escalation
,” added the leader of the Communist Party Fabien Roussel.
The divergence is clear with the socialists, who voted to “
help Ukraine hold on
”.
The leader of the PS deputies, Boris Vallaud, however, like the entire opposition, criticized
President Macron's “
casual
manipulations
(...) .”
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