Thread by @Mij_Europe

Macron today produced maps of a poss Russian breakthrough towards Kyiv or Odessa which could oblige the west to act to prevent a Russian victory in Ukraine. In talks w French opposition leaders, Macron said there should be no more “red lines” on Fr involvement in the conflict 1/

.@EmmanuelMacron summoned leaders of all French parliamentary parties to talks at the Elysée Palace to explain his controversial remarks last week in which he said the deployment of western troops in Ukraine should no longer be excluded 2/

Participants in the meeting said Macron had explained his theory of “strategic ambivalence” – keeping Moscow guessing. Since Vladimir Putin clearly knew no limits, he said, the West had been handing him an advantage by fixing or “interiorising” limits of its own /3

But Opposition leaders of the Far Right, Right and Left said they had been left worried and unconvinced by Macron’s approach (which has also been rejected by the US, UK, Germany and several other Nato countries) /4

Jordan Bardella, the president and de facto Number Two of Marine Le Pen's @MLP_officiel far right Rassemblement National, said threatening to send French soldiers “to fight a Nuclear power like Russia  is irresponsible and  extremely dangerous for world peace” /5

The Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel said that he feared that Macron was “ready to engage in a bellicose escalation which would be very dangerous” /6

Today’s meeting was the prelude to a two day parliamentary debate next week to discuss a ten year defence pact signed by Macron and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr @ZelenskyyUa last month 7/

Macron told French journalists on Wednesday that he hoped this debate would “make it clear” which political forces in France supported Ukraine and which supported Russia 8/

Elysée officials deny domestic politics & June EU elex have influenced Macron’s new rhetoric on Ukraine. They say he is driven by the difficult situation on front line, Navalny's murder & Kremlin talk of a possible attempt on his own life when he visits Kyiv later this month 9/

Macron is, however, evidently hoping the new rhetoric will embarrass Le Pen, who had a long history of Putin worship before the Ukr invasion. The Govt spokeswoman, Prisca Thevenot, says it is “quite evident” that Le Pen, unlike Macron, is not “committed to Russia’s defeat” ENDS