France’s Macron thinks he is the right fit for running Europe’s foreign policy but not everyone agrees
- The French leader has fashioned himself into the continent’s de facto figurehead on foreign policy by taking a lead on confronting Russia and the war in Gaza
- Macron’s critics say he is more talk than action, pointing to his country’s below par contribution to overall aid sent to Ukraine
Emmanuel Macron didn’t need to release images of himself walloping a punching bag to tell the world he was up for a fight.
Even before he broadcast Raging Bull poses all over Instagram, the French president’s hawkish new stance was evident when he contrived to very publicly refuse to rule out sending troops to Ukraine.
With the UK no longer in the European Union and Germany’s government riven with division, Macron has been fashioning himself into the continent’s de facto figurehead on foreign policy. He’s taken a lead on confronting Russian aggression and the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. But not all his allies are convinced he’s the best champion of their interests.
His controversial comment about boots on the ground earned an instant and very public recrimination from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and angered US officials who privately say such a move might even risk fomenting a clash with Moscow, according to a senior official familiar with the discussions among allies.
Macron’s hints were issued to keep Russian President Vladimir Putin guessing, he said at the time, but officials familiar with Nato discussions on Ukraine said they may have had the opposite effect.
By forcing Berlin to publicly rule out the possibility of sending troops, Macron managed to dispel what lingering ambiguity there had been about the whereabouts of allies’ red lines, according to a senior US official.