Macron present to parliamentarians plan to deploy 6,000 French troops in Ukraine in rear – media

French President Emmanuel Macron gathered on Thursday, January 8, political forces represented in the French parliament to present to them a project to deploy several thousand French soldiers in Ukraine after the conclusion of a peace agreement, Le Monde reports.

"We will not be on the frontline, but we will be in Ukraine to support the Ukrainian army," Macron said, assuring that international forces will accompany Ukrainians "far from the frontline."

The closed meeting was attended by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces General Fabien Mandon, Speakers of the National Assembly Yael Braun-Pivet and Senate Gerard Larcher, heads of parliamentary factions, party leaders and heads of the foreign affairs and defense committees in parliament, a total of about thirty people. According to the publication, all political forces were present at the meeting, including those who were most skeptical about sending troops to Ukraine.

"The French forces will be neither a mediation force nor a stabilization force," Mandon clarified during the meeting, stating that they were "a force to provide support to the Ukrainian army."

After the meeting, parliamentarian Mathilde Panot said that Paris could send "6,000 French soldiers" to Ukraine.

Macron also shared with the politicians at the meeting "confidential information" about France's contribution "so that everyone has a clear idea of ​​the stakes," the head of state's entourage clarified. He said "important progress," which, in his opinion, is the U.S. support for the security guarantees that the Europeans will provide to Ukraine, such as sending ground forces to prevent any new Russian attacks when a possible ceasefire comes into force.

According to the publication, none of the participants in the meeting expressed a principled objection to the mechanism presented by the head of state, and some parliamentarians saw the proposed coalition of volunteers as a possible alternative to NATO. However, the "backstop," that is, the promise of U.S. intervention in the event of Russia's violation of a possible ceasefire, sparked discussion. A number of deputies noted that they did not trust the U.S. promises, others expressed fears of "an outbreak of conflict," opposed unification with the U.S. and advocated for "UN peacekeeping forces."

Lecornu agreed with the "need to involve parliament in the discussions." The debate will take place "within two to three weeks," in accordance with Article 50-1 of the Constitution, with or without a vote, he said.