PARIS
\nFrench President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s Ukraine strategy was to be put to a symbolic vote in parliament\u2019s lower house on Tuesday as political tensions rage in the run-up to June\u2019s European Parliament elections.
\nMacron has been seeking to hammer home the importance of greater support for Ukraine, which is running out of ammunition, insisting that Europe\u2019s security is at stake.
\nFollowing a debate, the National Assembly lower house will hold a non-binding vote on the government\u2019s Ukraine strategy, including a bilateral security agreement signed by Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month.
\nWith the symbolic parliament vote, Macron is forcing political parties to take a public stance on the conflict as Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine stretches into its third year.
\nThe far-right National Rally (RN), which leads Macron\u2019s alliance by a wide margin ahead of the June European elections, said it would abstain, while the far-left France Unbowed party (LFI) said it would vote against.
\nWith the support of the conservative Republicans party (LR), the outcome of the vote could still offer backing to Macron\u2019s strategy.
\nPrime Minister Gabriel Attal will start the debate at around 4:30 p.m. (1530 GMT) and the vote is expected at around 8:00 pm.
\nThe upper house, the Senate, was set to hold similar debates on Wednesday.
\nThe LFI said it would vote \u201cagainst war\u201d and the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO and the European Union in the future.
\nFor his part, Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old leader of the RN, said his party would abstain because of its \u201cred lines.\u201d
\n\u201cWe need to be very careful,\u201d Bardella told broadcaster France 2. \u201cYes to support for Ukraine but no to war with Russia.\u201d
\nThe RN opposes the dispatch of Western ground troops, which Macron has refused to rule out, and the possibility of Ukraine becoming a member of NATO and the EU.
\nAllies of Macron at the weekend lambasted the RN at the launch of their European election campaign, accusing the far-right party of flirting with the Kremlin and betraying the interests of France and Europe.
\nBut public support for France\u2019s continued aid for Ukraine is waning, according to some pollsters.
\nAn Elabe poll released on Sunday showed that 39 percent of French people support France\u2019s continued economic and financial aid for Ukraine, 11 percentage points down from June 2023.
\nJust 14 percent of French people believe France should ramp up military aid for Ukraine according to the study.
\nEmphasising that his ruling party is prepared for war with Russia is a \u201crisky bet\u201d ahead of the elections, the Eurointelligence think tank said.
\nIt added that Macron\u2019s \u201cnarrow focus\u201d on the RN made his party an \u201ceasy target\u201d for others.
\nMacron\u2019s hardened stance, which has included not ruling out the sending of Western troops to Ukraine, represents a turnaround for a leader who had for many years sought to position himself as a top mediator between Russia and Ukraine.
\nSpeaking to French broadcaster BFM TV on Monday, Ukrainian leader Zelensky said there was no need for French ground troops in his war-torn country as long as \u201cUkraine holds.\u201d
\n\u201cYour children are not going to die in Ukraine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS French President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s Ukraine strategy was to be put to a symbolic vote in parliament\u2019s lower house on Tuesday as political tensions rage in the run-up to June\u2019s European Parliament elections. Macron has been seeking to hammer home the importance of greater support for Ukraine, which is running out of ammunition, insisting that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393376,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-393365","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n