Ukraine

Macron backs Ukraine’s bid to join EU during trip to Kyiv

France — Link

French president joined Scholz and Draghi in trip to Ukrainian capital. 

Macron condemns Russian 'massacre' as EU leaders visit Kyiv

International — Link

French head of state was speaking in the town of Irpin while on a visit with the German, Italian and Romanian leaders to show support for Ukraine.

Macron, Scholz and Draghi arrive in Kyiv for historic visit

International — Link

The French president and other two EU leaders were greeted with air raid sirens in Ukrainian capital.

French volunteer fighter killed in Ukraine

International — Link

The young man had reportedly joined a foreign defence unit in Ukraine and was involved in fighting around the north-east city of Kharkiv.

French journalist killed in Ukraine

International — Link

Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, 32,  was accompanying the evacuation of civilians from a zone in eastern Ukraine on Monday when what was reportedly a bomb from Russian artillery fire struck the vehicle he was travelling in.

Macron says Ukraine bid to join EU will probably take 'decades'

International — Link

French President Emmanuel Macron, addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, said Ukraine's application to join the European Union, launched in February soon after Russia's invasion of the country, 'would take several years indeed, probably several decades'.

Macron pledges more French arms and aid to Ukraine

International — Link

French president's pledge to offer more backing came during a one-hour telephone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

How a Le Pen election victory could affect war in Ukraine

International — Link

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, who will face incumbent Emmanuel Macron in a final round of the elections on April 24th, has close ties to the Kremlin while her party has received significant funding from Russian banks, wants France to leave NATO, seeks to weakenn the EU, and is opposed to sanctions against Russian oil and gas exports.

Zelensky 'pained' by Macron's cautioning against 'genocide' claims

International — Link

Speaking in a television interview about Russian killings of civilians in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said the Russian army had clearly committed war crimes but cautioned against describing the atrocities involving 'brotherly' peoples as 'genocide', prompting Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky to retort that Macron's reaction was 'painful'.

Le Pen opposes sanctions on Russian oil and gas

France — Link

The French far-right presidential election candidate Marine Le Pen, who will face Emmanuel Macron in a deciding vote between the two on April 24th and who has previously shown support for the Kremlin over its conflict with Ukraine, has said she is opposed to sanctions on Russian oil and gas.

Macron calls Polish PM 'a far-right anti-Semite'

International — Link

Poland on Friday summoned France's ambassador over French President Emmanuel Macron's comment that Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is 'a far-right anti-Semite who bans LGBT people', made in reaction to Morawiecki's criticism of Macron's repeated talks with Vladimir Putin, which he likened to negotiating with Adolf Hitler. 

French priest and researcher of massacres now focuses on Ukraine

International — Link

Father Patrick Desbois, 66, who has spent two decades researching and publishing the facts of mass killings, from the lesser known atrocities of WWII to the massacre of Yazidis by the so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, and is now collecting testimonies of the horrific events unfolding in the war in Ukraine. 

French military spy chief quits after Ukraine failings, sources say

France — Link

General Eric Vidaud is reportedly leaving his post after Paris failed to accurately predict – in contrast with western allies – that Russia would launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

French fears over 'another Syria' as 150 fighters head to Ukraine

International — Investigation

Fighters have been arriving from all corners of the planet to help defend Ukraine itself against the Russian invasion. Mediapart has been told that these foreign fighters include around 150 from France. The authorities in Paris meanwhile worry there could be a repeat of the problems seen during the Syrian war when French fighters went to combat Bashar al-Assad's regime – and came back radicalised. Sébastien Bourdon and Matthieu Suc report.

Macron says France will spearhead operation to evacuate Mariupol

International — Link

French president says an ‘exceptional humanitarian operation’ will be discussed with Russian leader Putin within days.