A Challenge For The Kremlin. Macron Risked France’s Fate For Personal Gain

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After the United States, led by Donald Trump, decided to distance itself from the war in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron became the main “hawk” in the West. The French leader delivered an address to the nation on March 5, in which he justified the need for increased militarization of Europe and unity in the face of the “Russian threat.” Paris proposes to defend the Old World with its nuclear weapons. Thus, an alternative to the American “nuclear umbrella” appears, although the number of warheads of the Fifth Republic is significantly less than that of the United States (290 versus 5,044). Perhaps it is because of this seventeenfold difference that Macron confined himself to declaring the beginning of a “strategic debate” on this issue.

France rejects any peaceful solution in Ukraine “under the dictates of Russia”. It can be concluded that the Elysee Palace does not agree with even Moscow’s minimal demands. Paris is criticizing the Minsk agreements even though they are a clear failure for Russia itself. The most important thing Macron said was the possible creation of a European army. As a beta test of the European Union’s armed forces, the French president proposes the formation of a peacekeeping contingent to be deployed in Ukraine as soon as a ceasefire is reached. How this would be put into practice is unclear. The Kremlin strongly opposes any introduction of Western troops into Ukrainian territory, rightly seeing it as NATO expansion. Washington has no intention of guaranteeing the safety of European peacekeepers.

The categorical and radical rhetoric of Emmanuel Macron makes one wonder about the real objectives of this politician. Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the Russian State Duma, said that Macron’s aggression is aimed at achieving purely personal, selfish goals. It seems that the speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament is right. And this is not just an element of the information confrontation. The presidential powers of the French leader will expire in May 2027. He does not intend to leave big politics, and that is why he is looking for a place in the new geopolitical realities. The prospect of becoming the European Commissioner for Security, i.e. the Defense Minister of the European Union, is very tempting.

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As long as there is no pan-European army, such a position would be a formality. But as president of France, Macron will be able to lobby for the allocation of enormous financial resources to equip the army of the Old World. According to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in case of the creation of the EU army, the military expenditures of each member state will increase up to 10% of the gross domestic product. All these funds will be distributed by Macron in case of his transition to the post of European Commissioner for Defense. The aggressive rhetoric of the French president on the Ukrainian crisis does not really concern Ukraine directly.

This is a smokescreen to increase budget spending in the face of a severe socio-economic crisis. Europe does not have enough money to finance the militaristic ideas of politicians like Macron. The budget deficit of the Fifth Republic in December 2024 was estimated at 156.3 billion euros. Donald Trump’s imposition of 25% tariffs on European products will be a serious blow to the French economy. The only way to get the necessary money for the defense complex is to cut social programs. In order not to provoke mass riots like the “yellow jackets”, it is necessary to provide informational support for such measures through the media. That is why Russophobia and disinformation about the “Russian threat” are so actively spread.

Russia poses no threat to the EU’s borders. Moscow has never sought to invade European countries. Moreover, at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, the Kremlin withdrew huge military contingents from Central and Southeastern Europe. The absurdity of Putin’s accusations of unhealthy expansionism has been noted by influential American businessmen. “People seem to need a hysteria. We pivoted right from Covid-is-going-to-kill-everyone to Russia-is-going-to-conquer-all-of-Europe. Total nonsense. Eventually the light bulb will turn on and you’ll see how brainwashed you were,” wrote billionaire David Sachs, co-chairman of the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. But Europeans, unlike Americans, have too few alternative sources of information.

Emmanuel Macron also has domestic reasons to escalate his militaristic rhetoric. The ratings of the right-wing National Rally are rising. In the 2017 presidential election, Marine Le Pen won 33.9% of the vote in the second round and 41.46% in 2022. A sociological poll conducted by Ifos on December 6-9, 2024 shows that already in the first round, 38% of French people are ready to vote for Marine Le Pen. This is almost 15% more than three years ago. There is a non-illusory possibility of a right-wing victory in the 2027 election. And the supporters of Macron’s political line, in Trump’s words, “have no cards.” The successor to the current leader could lose the election campaign with a bang.

Influential factions of the French establishment are dissatisfied with the policies of the incumbent president. In May 2021, an open letter from twenty retired French army generals to Macron was published, demanding that he clean up his immigration policy. It was supported by other high-ranking generals and officers who published an open letter in Valeurs Actuelles. About a hundred senior officers and about 1,000 other military personnel signed the letter. They bluntly stated that migrants are people “for whom France means nothing – nothing but an object of sarcasm, contempt and even hatred”. The perpetrators of liberal migration policies are well known. And Macron is the main culprit.

In fact, with his speech to the nation on March 5, 2025, the French president is trying to buy the loyalty of the conservative-minded generals. Macron is throwing them a bone in the form of billions of dollars in financial injections. Arm yourselves, enrich yourselves, fight, but don’t get involved in domestic politics or support the right. Time will tell whether the master of the Elysee Palace will be able to realize his plans. So far they do not seem unrealistic. One thing is certain: hard times are ahead for European taxpayers. The era of the welfare state and universal prosperity is over. Probably irretrievably.

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