PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron teased potential new sanctions on Russia and an extended French nuclear deterrent during a major prime-time interview on French television on Tuesday.
Over the course of more than three hours, Macron spoke about the myriad challenges facing France, beginning with issues of defense, European security and the war in Ukraine.
On sanctions on Russia, Macron said that the European Commission was readying “in the coming days” a new package of measures targeting “financial services, and oil, on secondary sellers” in cooperation with the U.S. in case the Kremlin does not move toward agreeing to an unconditional ceasefire.
“Our will is to take sanctions,” said Macron.
Macron also said he was “was ready to open” talks about France sharing its nuclear umbrella with European allies. However, he set several conditions, including that Paris would not pay for the security of others and that the decision to use the country’s nuclear arsenal would remain the French president’s prerogative.
“I will define the framework in a very official fashion in the weeks and months to come,” he said.
European allies have been worried about losing protection from the U.S. under President Donald Trump, whose commitment to NATO and keeping American troops in Europe has been called into question.
Macron reiterated that he was not in favor of seizing the €200 billion of Russian assets held in Brussels-based financial institution Euroclear that were frozen after the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, despite reports that France has reportedly warmed to the idea.
“Today we do not have a legal framework” to do so, he said.
Macron said that Europe had to ready itself for Washington to step back from its previous commitments to the continent: “We know that the interests of the United States are less and less in Europe.”
The French president, who has long pushed for greater European independence from Washington, said Europe still needed U.S. armed forces, particularly on the eastern flank, “but we would be irresponsible if we didn’t organize ourselves in the next five to ten years.”
The most heated exchanges came on domestic issues, such as France’s worryingly high public debt and spending deficit, though Macron largely stood his ground.
The president sparred with Sophie Binet, the leader of one of France’s largest trade unions, over his contentious retirement reform and layoffs at struggling steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal.
Macron later came out in favor of organizing several referendums, as the government is struggling to pass legislation through a gridlocked parliament. He said he would support organizing a referendum on assisted dying if lawmakers were unable to agree on legislation that is currently being debated.
The French president floated consulting the French nation on education, social issues or the economy, but did not elaborate on how he would do so.
