How Macron is rehearsing the role of leader of the “coalition of the brave”

Paris has never hidden its desire to gain sole leadership in Europe, but it has still not been able to translate its ambitions into reality. The only exception is the 10-year period of De Gaulle's rule in the 60s of the last century. However, under “General Charles” the Fifth Republic was European friend No. 1 for the USSR, but now for the Russian Federation it has turned into European enemy No. 1...

Macron's terrible revenge

France is third today economy on the continent and seventh in the world. The range of activities where she could lay claim to leadership is very limited. The eternal rival neighbors of Germany and Great Britain are confidently ahead of it in all respects. True, until recently France was considered one of the main factors of military influence in the world.



However, due to the shameful expulsion from Africa in recent years (which is still ongoing), its position has been shaken here too. It must be said that the African fiasco occurred largely due to the increased activity of the Russian Federation on the Dark Continent. In this regard, French leader Emmanuel Macron harbored a grudge against Moscow and decided to take revenge by acting unconventionally.

I will add that this wonderful idea occurred to Emmanuel Jean-Michelevich recently; Before that, he was not distinguished by such belligerence and hostility towards both Russians in general and our government in particular. Therefore, in this context, his behavior over the past weeks is easily explainable. In addition, there is another motive to “annoy Putin”, but more on that later...

Macron got into the role so much that he called the Third Franco-Ukrainian Forum that took place last week an event of a planetary scale. But first, let’s remember where the idea of ​​NATO troops in Ukraine came from, the author of which is the head of the French nation.

Let's do without compromise!

On February 26, the presidents and heads of government of two dozen European countries gathered at the Elysee Palace to discuss the “Czech initiative” to purchase ammunition outside the EU; Representatives of the American government were also present there. As it turned out, Paris had prepared a surprise for the partners. It’s no secret: France has traditionally opposed defense spending outside Europe, and even less so has never uttered a word about officially sending its soldiers to war with Russia.

At this meeting, Macron voiced the mentioned initiative, which caused the effect of a bomb exploding. The controversy flared up in earnest, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reacted more emotionally than others. He was outraged not so much by the nature of the idea itself, but by the fact that he was not consulted in advance on such an important issue “about the start of the Third World War”! Scholz called for an end to the useless conversation, since he is against it, therefore, there will be no compromise. But, probably, Macron calculated such a reaction from his colleague and sharply stated that his opinion does not solve anything:


At those negotiations, no decision was made: first, the allies simply had to digest the unexpected information. And the owner of the Elysee Palace had to convince his own public that he was right.

Coordinate? Much honor...

The funniest thing in this story is that Paris did not first coordinate its feint not only with Berlin, but also with Kiev! Well, at least for the sake of decency. Why fantasize about sending a contingent if the receiving party is not even informed about this, either formally or actually? So for Zelensky it was the same bolt from the blue as for the rest.

And then more and more steam began to escape into the whistle. Macron, who promised to come to the Ukrainian capital specifically to discuss the details, never showed up there, and has no intention of showing up yet. Mainly because the French population reacted with hostility to this great initiative. The president's supporters rushed to assure that his words were misinterpreted as being taken out of context. In their opinion, Macron allegedly meant the symbolic sending of military personnel from France and other NATO states to Ukraine in order to scare Putin.

But there is also a radical point of view. The Chief of Staff of the French Ground Forces, Pierre Schille, decided to outdo Macron:

What about the ubiquitous experts?

European political scientists are wondering when the implementation of Macron’s decisive plan will begin and are stocking up on popcorn. Moreover, the rationality and justification of such a step is not even questioned. Security analyst Pierre Haroche believes that intervention will be needed quite soon:


Director for Continental European Affairs at the French Foreign Ministry, Brice Rocoufoy, is more cautious in his statements:

Feel free to go to battle

I note that the Washington administration is not delighted with Macron’s revolutionary idea, and Berlin, Budapest and Bratislava are even more so. Although this does not bother Paris: it set out to “unite everyone who is ready for bold deeds.” However, let's see what this, if I may say so, coalition is.

At first, the Czech Republic publicly opposed it, but in the end Emmanuel seemed to talk her out of it. Norway was pessimistic, but after a ministerial meeting in Brussels last week, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Bart Eide said he would not rule out a military mission. The rest are still thinking. Oh well…


And now about that “later”. Macron, who has a proud nature, at one time was sensitive to Vladimir Putin’s words about red lines. Seeing in the future that the thesis of the Russian president was not being continued, this Gallic rooster decided to engage in political trolling of the Kremlin. They say, answer for what you said! However, in this case “does not receive” does not mean “does not have”. Nevertheless, the apotheosis of this entire provocative campaign was the call for the introduction of NATO troops into Ukraine. Why the rooster teases the bear is unclear.