It all started rather nicely. More than two dozen European countries were discussing assistance to Ukraine. There are a lot of plans, a lot of promises, except that no consensus on the purchase of arms and ammunition for Kyiv outside the EU was reached, as some people did not want to spend the allocations for aid to Ukraine from European funds for the purchase of weapons in Türkiye. But Macron decided to surprise everyone and suggested sending ground troops of Western countries to Ukraine. According to the current master of the Élysée Palace, there is “no consensus” on this issue at this stage. “But nothing can be ruled out. We will do whatever is necessary to ensure that Russia cannot win this war,” Emmanuel Macron uttered pithily.
It was supposed to sound impressive and tough, in theory. But, for a start, it makes sense to make such statements in public if the relevant decision has already been made, transport planes are warming up their engines, and soldiers are packing their backpacks. Or at least a clear ultimatum has been formed. But if all that has been said is “perhaps in the future”, “nothing can be ruled out” or “all options are on the table”, it is a waste of breath at best.
Further, an initiative of this sort should be voiced if it has already been elaborated through confidential contacts and there are chances that the idea will be supported by partners and allies. But Macron’s initiative was not supported by the participants of the meeting. And that is not a leak, but an official comment voiced by German Cabinet spokesman Steffen Hebestreit: “The French president then made a suggestion, which was made public at a subsequent news conference, whether other [options] should be contemplated, such as ground troops or something similar <…>. The Chancellor then spoke out quite quickly, assessing the proposal as not very appropriate. Then, during the course of the evening, no one present supported the French proposal, and everyone walked away <…>.” One does not need to be a professional diplomat to figure it out that it was a devastating embarrassment for Macron.
Of course, a country and its president are entitled to their own position. But it is one thing if the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev makes a tough statement. The words of the leader of our country are never at odds with his actions, and his position does not change ten times a day. This kind of initiative would sound tough and promising if such statement were made by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Rishi Sunak or Olaf Scholz, not to mention Biden. But if it is Macron talking about it…
Paris, of course, will not want to be reminded of this today, but at the beginning of the Ukrainian war, Emmanuel Macron had very different ideas. In particular, he insisted on finding a way to “save the face of the Kremlin”—at the expense of territorial concessions from Ukraine, obviously. Moreover, more recently, Macron complained that he could not find the funds to help Ukraine. It was about money, not soldiers. And when a person with such a track record tries to sound firm and resolute…
The world’s leading media met Macron’s statement with a barrage of irony. Politico does not spare the French leader’s ego: “Macron’s Ukrainian ambitions are perceived as hollow talk in both Paris and Kyiv.” Le Figaro has to acknowledge: “The French president’s words have provoked an angry reaction across Europe. Macron has become isolated.” And Handelsblatt ruthlessly identifies the hot buttons: “The French president’s position in no way matches the extremely meager arms supplies from Paris. Whoever mentions ground troops but is not even able to provide enough weapons is not acting in the interests of Ukraine or the West, he is acting hypocritically.”
It may have seemed to Macron at the time that he was laying a milestone in diplomacy on the Ukrainian vector, expanding the list of topics and options under discussion and finally etching his name in history. But in reality, the Overton window slammed shut with a bang, painfully pinning Macron’s tongue.
Meanwhile, negative political points continue to accumulate. In theory, such threats should cool down the fervor of the opposing side, in this case Russia, and force it to make certain concessions. Instead, Macron’s buffoonery has demonstrated that the West is not ready for a direct confrontation with Russia and does not want to be drawn too deeply into the Ukrainian war. It is unlikely that Kyiv will thank Macron for this. The French president has predictably failed as a peacemaker. The exact opposite is happening: just like in the South Caucasus, where French diplomacy is only fueling tensions.
And now, more grandiose plans of the French leader have fallen apart. It all looked great in the projections and dreams: Emmanuel Macron comes forward with a strong and bold initiative, unites the forces of the free world, and leads them… But in reality, it came down to another humiliating failure, political isolation and shattered credibility.
Politics is too serious a business to be entrusted to pompous demagogues.
