French President Emmanuel Macron met with the leaders of the country's main political parties on Thursday, trying to make the case for more support for Ukraine ahead of this summer's European Parliament elections, AFP reports, UNN writes.
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Last week, Macron stunned many in Europe by refusing to rule out sending Western ground troops to Ukraine.
Although members of the opposition condemned his remarks, Macron has since doubled down on his calls for more military aid to Ukraine, the newspaper writes.
The French president and party leaders were expected to discuss the war, in particular the results of an international conference on strengthening military support for Ukraine held in Paris last week.
According to Le Monde, the leaders of the French Communist Party (PCF) and the National Rally (RN), Fabien Roussel and Jordan Bardella, leaving the Elysee Palace, reported that Macron explained to party leaders during a meeting on Thursday that there are "no restrictions" and "no red lines" for France's support of Ukraine.
The French parliament will have the opportunity to vote on the country's strategy for Ukraine, including the bilateral security agreement signed with Ukraine last month, after debates in the lower house of the National Assembly next Tuesday and the upper house of the Senate on Wednesday.
On the eve of his meeting with the opposition, Macron spoke with his predecessors Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace late Wednesday night.
Speaking to journalists after the talks, Hollande called for more aid to Ukraine and European unity.
"The only possible answer is to show that we are in full solidarity with the Ukrainians, that we are providing them with all the support they need without taking part in any hostilities ourselves," Hollande said.
When asked about the possibility of sending troops, the former French socialist president said: "My position on military matters is that the less we say, the better.
On Wednesday, government spokeswoman Prisca Taveno said it was "quite clear" that the far-right National Rally (RN) does not support Macron's call to do everything to ensure Russia's defeat.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal accused RN of "supporting Russia more than Ukraine".
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"The National Rally (RN) is the largest opposition party in the lower house of the French parliament and is leading by a wide margin in European pre-election polls.
Most of Macron's European allies have said they will not send troops to Ukraine, while French officials have also insisted that any such forces could be sent to support operations such as demining, not to fight Russian forces.
In an apparent response to Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of a "real" risk of nuclear war and said that "we also have weapons capable of hitting targets on their territory.