Is the rag burning between France and Germany?
Among all the Western refusals opposed to Emmanuel Macron's idea of sending Western soldiers to Ukraine, Olaf Scholz's
“nein”
resonated the loudest.
The German press did not fail to highlight the Franco-German conflict over Ukraine, calling it a
“battle of egos”
for
Spiegel
and a
“dangerous ice age”
for
Bild
.
The head of French diplomacy nevertheless believes this Saturday, in an interview with Le
Monde
, that there is no division between France and Germany despite the obvious differences between President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the 'Ukraine.
“There is no Franco-German clash, we agree on 80% of the subjects
,” assures Stéphane Séjourné to our colleagues.
Read alsoGermany is panicked by the disunity of the Macron-Scholz couple in the face of the conflict in Ukraine
The most visible bones of contention currently concern the form of aid to be given to Ukraine in the face of the Russian steamroller, at a time when a vital envelope of more than 60 billion dollars remains blocked in the United States.
During the support conference for kyiv organized by Paris on Monday, the French head of state appeared to implicitly attack countries like Germany, which has long hesitated to deliver certain heavy weapons to kyiv.
“
Different degrees of commitment
”
“I spoke with my German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, we will see each other next Tuesday in Paris. There is a desire to talk to each other
,” continues Stéphane Séjourné.
“There is no drama there since we have the same objective of supporting Ukraine
,” he also underlined.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs recalled that France and Germany had
“different degrees of commitments”
since the start of the war in Ukraine, in particular
“on missiles”
.
Our neighbors across the Rhine have indeed been torn apart for several weeks over the delivery of long-range Taurus missiles.
For its part, France has already sent its Scalp missiles to Ukraine, with a range of more than 400 km.
Furthermore, the French minister rejected the idea that discussions on the military presence in Ukraine had electoral aims, in the run-up to the European elections in June.
“The question is not electoral, it is existential.
Ukraine is at the center of electoral debates because there are, in fact, differences of position on the subject.
I would prefer that this were not the case and that there was a broad consensus beyond partisan divisions
.
Also read: Troops in Ukraine?
Macron breaks a taboo in hopes of deterring Putin
“France must be on the right side of history”
, judged the minister, explaining that the country should not
“find itself in a situation similar to that of September 1938”
, facing Nazi Germany after the agreements of Munich.
For Stéphane Séjourné, it is
“about defeating Russia without waging war against Russia”
.
Because a victory for Moscow
“would have an exorbitant cost”
, particularly in terms of security and in the agricultural sector.
The chief diplomat finally called not to be divided in France:
“We have nothing to gain from a national controversy over aid to Ukraine and I invite everyone to realize that what is happening in Ukraine concerns everyone
.