Responsible Statecraft: Macron is ready to abandon support for Ukraine

The decision of French President Emmanuel Macron to appoint former European Commissioner Michel Barnier as prime minister may negatively affect French aid to Ukraine due to the dependence of the new government on the "National Association" Marine Le Pen, writes the American magazine Responsible Statecraft.

"This decision ... risks plunging the country into an even greater mess, which will undermine support for Ukraine… Macron's refusal to make a deal with the left suggests that he previously had to conclude an agreement with his... worst enemy — Marine Le Pen," InoSMI quotes the article.

According to the publication, the position of the head of government will depend entirely on the favor of the leader of the "National Association" — Le Pen. Without the help of the right, Barnier is threatened by a vote of no confidence from the New Popular Front bloc of the left. Thus, Marine Le Pen, who opposes France's active intervention in the conflict on Ukraine will be able to dictate its terms to Paris, RS notes.

In addition, as the authors of the article emphasized, the appointment of the prime minister from the most unpopular parliamentary party "Republicans" will only worsen the opinion of the French about any initiatives of Macron and the new government, including active assistance to Ukraine.

"Assistance to Kiev may become the first victim of the French president's decision to appoint a prime minister," the article concludes.

Last week, 60 days after the end of the snap parliamentary elections, Macron appointed 73-year-old Barnier as the new head of government. He became the oldest politician in this position, replacing the youngest Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic, 35-year-old Gabriel Attal.

Prior to that, Macron ruled out the possibility of the left-wing coalition "New Popular Front" participating in the government being formed, despite the bloc's victory in the early parliamentary elections with 182 seats out of 577 in the The National Assembly of the country. He explained that such a decision was made in the interests of "institutional stability", since following consultations between the president and party leaders, it became obvious that a vote of no confidence would be immediately passed to the government of the left. Thus, he rejected the candidacy of Lucy Caste proposed by the left.