A week after Nicolas Sarkozy made very commented remarks on the neutrality of Ukraine and the endorsement of Russian Crimea in an interview with Figaro Magazine, Emmanuel Macron took advantage of a summit of the “Crimea Platform” organized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to clarify France’s position in the settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
“I want to say it here once again in front of you, by your side, very clearly: France recognizes neither the annexation by Russia of Ukrainian territories nor the results of the sham elections which have been organised”, hammered the head of state in a pre-recorded video broadcast this Wednesday. In his message, Emmanuel Macron also assured that France had not changed its position regarding “the historic decision to recognize Ukraine as a candidate for membership of the European Union”. A speech aimed at reassuring his Ukrainian counterpart, at a time when positions are multiplying.
On the eve of the release of his book Le Temps des combats (Fayard), Nicolas Sarkozy pleaded, among other things, for “an indisputable referendum” to “confirm the current state of affairs”, and assured that “any return to back (for Crimea) would be illusory”. Believing that it should remain “neutral”, he also spoke out against Ukraine’s entry into the European Union and NATO. Highlighting his role in resolving the Georgian crisis, in 2008 he called for “diplomacy” between Russia and Ukraine.
Welcomed by Moscow, these statements aroused the ire of part of the French political class. At the head of the Franco-Russian friendship group in the Assembly, Renaissance MP Natalia Pouzyreff accused the former head of state of “rewriting history” by reaching out to the Kremlin. For his part, the environmental deputy Julien Bayou denounced a “lunar” and “shocking” position taken by the former president who had become “a Russian influencer”.
A reference to the links that Nicolas Sarkozy would have kept with the Russian power. But the criticism did not stop at his political opponents, spreading to those around him. His adviser at Bercy, who became deputy intelligence coordinator at the Élysée, Jérôme Poirot, under his presidency, was particularly indignant at “shameful remarks”.
Just returned from Fort Brégançon, Emmanuel Macron had so far not reacted to the words of his predecessor. But if the president has today been firm on France’s posture, sweeping away the hypothesis of recognition of the territories annexed by Russia, he has been singled out several times for having made ambiguous remarks. In June 2022, he said that “we must not humiliate Russia”. A position that had aroused the turmoil of the Ukrainian ruling class, and which is not unlike that of his predecessor.
Even today, although he designates Russia as solely responsible for the “return of the territorial war”, Emmanuel Macron concedes in his river interview granted to Le Point, that we “do not change the geography”, and assures that he will talk to Putin again “when it is useful”.
