loading . . . France plans to station 6,000 troops in Ukraine after peace deal French President Emmanuel Macron has informed parliament of a plan to station 6,000 French troops in Ukraine after a peace agreement is concluded. The briefing followed a closed-door meeting at the Élysée Palace on January 8 that brought together ministers, the country’s military leadership, the heads of both parliamentary chambers, and party and faction leaders, French newspaper Le Monde reported.
According to attendees, Macron shared confidential details of France’s contribution to security guarantees for Ukraine and stressed the troops would not operate on the front line.
Chief of the General Staff Fabien Mandon said these would not be deterrence or stabilization forces, but “forces to support the Ukrainian army.”
Macron added that foreign troops would be based “far from the front” and would focus on accompanying and training Ukrainian units.
Mathilde Panot, leader of the France Unbowed group in the National Assembly, said France could send up to 6,000 soldiers but questioned the reliability of U.S. security guarantees.
Some opposition figures, particularly on the left, argue that any deployment should occur only with a UN mandate. Representatives of right-wing parties noted that if Kyiv makes an official request, an international mandate may not be necessary.
French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said separate parliamentary debates on the issue will be held within two to three weeks.
As previously reported, Macron held closed-door consultations with parliamentary parties at the Élysée about a possible deployment of several thousand French troops to Ukraine after a peace agreement with Russia.
On January 6, Paris hosted a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, attended by 35 delegates from participating countries. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took part alongside representatives of 27 states and governments. https://www.uawire.org/france-plans-to-station-6-000-troops-in-ukraine-after-peace-deal?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=bluesky
