French lawmakers vote in favor of Paris' strategy to support Ukraine

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – France’s lower house of parliament voted Tuesday in favor of Paris' strategy to support Ukraine.

Members of the National Assembly held a debate and voting session on a bilateral security agreement signed between France and Ukraine on Feb. 16, and 372 members voted in favor of the strategy against 99.

The far-right National Rally (RN) party, which has often been accused of tacitly supporting Russia and having links with it, abstained.

Marine Le Pen, the former president of the RN and now president of its group in parliament, criticized the government for "instrumentalizing a major international crisis."

The left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) party voted against the bilateral agreement, and member Arnaud Le Gall slammed President Emmanuel Macron's remarks on sending French troops to Ukraine, which were tantamount to an "escalation."

Another left-wing lawmaker, Fabien Roussel of the French Communist Party, said his parliamentary group was unanimously against the agreement, which "contributes to the military escalation."

Ecologists and left-wing electoral alliance the New Ecological and Social People's Union (NUPES) were in favor of the strategy to express support for Ukraine but criticized Macron's remarks on "sending troops."

Mathilde Panot, a lawmaker from the LFI, slammed the voting result in a post on X and described it as "a masquerade of an already-signed agreement," adding her party is advocating peace.

Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne in a post on X considered the result a "clear message sent to the Ukrainian people."

"France is with you. It is also a moment of clarification: Some are with the Ukrainians, and extremists are with the Kremlin."

Macron is expected to answer questions about the situation in Ukraine in an interview on Thursday evening, according to broadcaster BFMTV.

Senators are due to cast their ballots on the agreement Wednesday. The voting is symbolic and is not binding.

Macron made much-debated remarks indicating that sending Western troops to Ukraine was an option "to make sure Russia does not prevail," an idea rejected by allies including Germany. Reports have emerged, however, that Paris is building an alliance of countries open to the idea.