France will not send its young people to Ukraine under a new voluntary national service, President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday. Speaking on RTL radio, he confirmed plans to reshape the national service programme and warned that Europe must not show weakness toward Russia as the war in Ukraine escalated with heavy overnight strikes.
“We really need to, right now, dispel any misleading notion that we are going to send our young people to Ukraine. That is not at all what this is about,” Macron said, adding that the purpose was to “strengthen” the nation rather than deploy young French people to the front.
His assurances follow an outcry over a top French general’s warning that the country should be prepared to “lose its children” amid increasing Russian threats.
Macron said he would present the details on Thursday during a visit to the Varces army base in southeastern France, where he will outline a new framework for serving in the armed forces and respond to what he described as a growing desire for engagement among young people.
“It is very clear that we must strengthen the army-nation pact,” he said.
Europe, he warned, must stay firm as Moscow intensifies its campaign. Six people were killed in Kyiv in Russian missile and drone strikes overnight. Three people died in Russia's Rostov region in Ukrainian strikes.
Europe demands more work on US peace plan to end Russia-Ukraine war
'More aggressive Russia'
Macron said Russia had adopted a “much more aggressive stance” than in previous years and was waging “hybrid” warfare.
“In recent years, the conflict with Russia has escalated. Russia has launched a war of aggression on European soil. (...) It is waging a hybrid war with Europeans, an information war... This combination of factors means that yes, there is a confrontation,” he told RTL.
"We would be wrong to show weakness in the face of this threat. If we want to protect ourselves, we French – which is my sole concern – we must demonstrate that we are not weak against the power that threatens us the most."
Macron said a US plan aimed at ending the conflict sparked by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine was a step “in the right direction” with “elements” that should be “discussed, negotiated, improved”.
“We want peace. But not a peace that is in essence a capitulation, which puts Ukraine in an impossible situation, which gives Russia all the freedom to continue to go further, including to other European countries and putting everyone's security in danger,” he said.
“What is put on the table gives us an idea of what is acceptable for the Russians,” he said, adding that Ukrainians were the “only ones” who could agree to the plan’s terms.
He said no-one could speak on behalf of Ukrainians on territorial concessions.
The plan will be discussed on Tuesday afternoon at a video conference involving the 30 countries of the "coalition of the willing" supporting Ukraine.
If the war ends in a ceasefire, the coalition aims to send a multinational force to deter any further Russian attack.
Washington's 28-point plan initially hewed close to Russia's hardline demands, requiring Ukraine to cede territory, cut its military and pledge never to join NATO.
Zelensky pushes EU to unlock €140bn in frozen Russian assets
Frozen assets
An updated version, drawn up at emergency talks in Geneva, aimed to “uphold Ukraine's sovereignty”. It includes a proposal to use Russian assets frozen in Europe for US-led reconstruction projects in Ukraine.
Macron said Europeans should decide how the funds are used.
“The Europeans are the only ones to have a say” on this issue, he said.
He added that the “only red line” was Russia itself, more than three years after the full-scale invasion began.
“The only question we don't have an answer to is whether Russia is ready to make a lasting peace,” he said. “A peace where they don't re-invade Ukraine six months, eight months later, two years later,” he went on.
“Peace begins with a ceasefire. If Vladimir Putin wanted it, he would implement it. Today, he continues to kill civilians in Kyiv.”
France’s top general caused alarm last week after warning that the country must be ready to “lose its children” because of the threat posed by Russia.
Macron said the remarks had been “deformed” and “taken out of context”.
“Soldiers who sign up make sacrifices, but to tell all French people that they are going to be sacrificed, that makes no sense,” he said.
(with AFP)
