It is in an atmosphere of gravity that the National Assembly debated on the conflict in Ukraine this Tuesday, March 1 in the afternoon. It was a request from the opposition, the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, spoke to the deputies in the afternoon, then the senators at the start of the evening. A debate ensued without a vote.
At the rostrum of the Assembly, facing an almost full hemicycle, Jean Castex began his speech by denouncing “an act of war”, a “cynical and premeditated aggression” by Russia. The Prime Minister underlined the “support for the Ukrainian people” and “the admiration for President Zelensky”, to the hearty applause of the deputies of all stripes, who stood up. A few minutes earlier, a first ovation greeted the presence, in the gallery, of the Ukrainian ambassador to France, Vadym Omelchencko.
The Prime Minister returned to the sanctions imposed on Russia and warned that they “will not be painless for our economies”, before announcing “a resilience plan”, which the government is preparing and which will be finalized “as soon as possible. coming days”, to support households and businesses. Jean Castex also recalled that France would not get involved militarily in Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO, but stressed that there was “no doubt” that this would happen if “the conflict should know other extensions beyond the Ukrainian territory in the member countries of the Alliance”.
At the end of his speech of about thirty minutes, the whole hemicycle again applauded, but the Communist, rebellious deputies and part of the LR remained seated this time.
“The invasion of Ukraine, nothing can excuse it, nor put it into perspective”
Parliamentary groups took turns at the podium, unanimously condemning the Russian invasion and calling for an immediate ceasefire. The action of Emmanuel Macron and the government in the crisis was not called into question, except during the intervention of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, which caused a stir. At the desk, the Rebellious presidential candidate began by castigating the invasion of Ukraine: “Whatever the causes of the invasion of Ukraine, nothing can excuse it, nor put it into perspective”, affirmed the MP, who has been regularly accused of complacency towards Vladimir Putin, before questioning the Russian government, “which bears total responsibility”.
Applause crossed the hemicycle before giving way to boos when Jean-Luc Mélenchon said he regretted the European Union’s decision to deliver arms to Ukraine. “This decision would make us co-belligerents,” he explained. While questioning the exclusion of Russia from the Swift financial transaction system, defended by France. “Isn’t this initiating a global escalation, by pushing Russians and Chinese to now use their own circuit almost exclusively? What advantage for peace? The Rebellious candidate recalled his position, that of non-alignment and the exit from NATO.
The communist Fabien Roussel succeeded him at the podium, pointing to the responsibility of the Russian leader: “Vladimir Putin the irresponsible, the go to war, who has been distilling the poison of nationalism for years, who relies on his extreme right friends everywhere in Europe and in France. “The hour is serious enough that it leaves no room for polemics and sterile quarrels. For my part, I will not participate, ”added the communist candidate.
A position taken up by the left and the right. The position of political adversaries is indeed made difficult by the international situation. The deputy and boss of the PS, Olivier Faure, thus considered “that no justification is admissible to excuse or attenuate this invasion”, even the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO, and declared in favor of Ukraine becoming a member of the European Union.
“I accuse Mr. Zemmour, Mrs. Le Pen and Mr. Mélenchon”
The leader of the LR deputies, Damien Abad, meanwhile hit the extremes. “I accuse Mr. Zemmour, Mrs. Le Pen and Mr. Mélenchon of having maintained an unhealthy fascination for Poutine’s model. I accuse them of having behaved more than ambiguously with regard to the Russian power and I accuse them of compromises, which cast irreversible discredit on their ability to lead our country”, he hammered.
VIDEO. When Éric Zemmour and Marine Le Pen did not believe in a Russian offensive in Ukraine
His speech, originally titled “Ya Ukrainetz! I am Ukrainian! ” in a document previously sent by his teams to journalists, finally saw the formula disappear from his intervention. The fault, certainly, with Christophe Castaner, president of the LREM group who had opted for the same motto. As for Marine Le Pen, the RN presidential candidate, who could not have spoken for lack of a group in the Assembly, she was simply absent from the hemicycle.