Explainer | How France’s 2022 presidential race could impact Ukraine war
- President Emmanuel Macron and challenger Marine Le Pen close in polls ahead of France’s April 24 run-off election
- Le Pen seen as being close to Vladimir Putin; outcome of election could undercut Western efforts to stop Ukraine war
The capital of France may be thousands of miles away from the battlefields of eastern Ukraine, but what happens in French voting stations this month could have repercussions there.
Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has close ties to Russia and wants to weaken the European Union and Nato, which could undercut Western efforts to stop Russia’s war on Ukraine. Le Pen is trying to unseat centrist President Emmanuel Macron, who has a slim lead in polls ahead of France’s April 24 presidential run-off election.
Here are some of the ways the French election could impact the war in Ukraine:
Arming Ukraine
Macron’s government has sent €100 million (US$108 million) worth of weaponry to Ukraine in recent weeks and said Wednesday it will send more as part of a Western military aid effort. France has been a major source of military support for Ukraine since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 from Ukraine and supported separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine.
Le Pen expressed reservations about supplying Ukraine with additional arms. She said, if she were elected president, she would continue defence and intelligence aid but would be “prudent” about sending weapons because she thinks the shipments could suck other countries into the war with Russia.