French politician Jordan Bardella warned on Friday of a "direct war" with Russia if France, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), sends troops to Ukraine.
As Ukraine continues to fight against Russia's full-scale invasion, which Russian President Vladimir Putin launched just over two years ago, French President Emmanuel Macron, has been taking some heat for floating the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine to aid the Eastern European country in its fight against Moscow.
While speaking at a news conference in late February, Macron said sending boots on the ground has not been "ruled out" after it was discussed at a meeting with 20 European leaders and other Western officials in Paris.
"There's no consensus today to send in an official, endorsed manner troops on the ground. But in terms of dynamics, nothing can be ruled out," Macron said.
French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu later clarified that the discussions at the Paris meeting had to do with de-mining and military training operations in Ukraine away from the front lines.
"It's not sending troops to wage war against Russia," the minister said.
Bardella, the leader of France's far-right National Rally party, criticized Macron's comments on French radio.
"The president's words are causing great anxiety and concern among the French people. They may lead to a direct war with Russia," Bardella said Friday.
The politician said that the French people have "no interest" in confronting Russia and warned that his country has to be "extremely cautious."
Newsweek reached out to the Russian government and Macron via online form for comment.
The National Rally party put up a strong fight against Macron's centrist Renaissance party in the French 2022 elections. Macron won reelection in April 2022 against then-leader of the National Rally Marine Le Pen with 58.55 percent of the vote opposed to Le Pen's 41.45 percent. Meanwhile, Macron's party lost control of France's parliament in June 2022 after the National Rally party gained 81 seats.
When asked by reporters about Macron's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "The very fact of discussing the possibility of sending certain contingents to Ukraine from NATO countries is a very important new element."
Probed about the risks of NATO countries sending troops to fight in Ukraine, Peskov added: "In that case, we would need to talk not about the probability, but about the inevitability" of a direct conflict.
Other NATO members, including the U.S. and Germany, have ruled out sending ground troops to Ukraine. Earlier this month, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said President Joe Biden has "made it clear that we will not put U.S. boots on the ground."
The European Union (EU), which France is a part of, and the United States have been the largest backers of Ukraine in its war against Russia. However, support for additional Ukrainian aid has dwindled among U.S. Republican lawmakers, stalling funding that the war-torn nation needs to continue fighting against Moscow's forces.
Meanwhile, there have been some concerns about Putin expanding his war to NATO countries. However, the Russian leader has said Moscow has "no interest" in fighting with members of NATO.
NATO has condemned Russia for what it calls Moscow's "war of aggression" and fully supports Ukraine, saying, "Ukraine's future is in NATO." Ukraine is not a member state of NATO, but is working toward joining the military alliance.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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