Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Tuesday, as quoted by Reuters, that the French government could requisition munitions and weapons factories, an exceptional measure usually used in wartime to speed up production and supplies to the Ukrainian armed forces.

Lecornu, whose prerogatives would include such a measure, said he was “ready” to use his authority in this regard to prioritize the supply of weapons and ammunition needed by Ukraine on the battlefield.

“These issues are on the table,” he said during a press conference, adding that French production lines and stocks of anti-aircraft missile systems are under the greatest pressure due to Ukraine’s needs.

His comments came after the French government presented its Ukraine aid strategy to the Paris legislature on March 12, with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal telling MPs that a Russian victory in the war would be “cataclysmic” for the French.

“We do not impose any restrictions on Russia, which does not set any restrictions,” the French Prime Minister emphasized. He insisted on the “concrete” and “tangible” risks of a Russian victory for the “everyday life” of the French, “the cataclysm of their purchasing power”: “tenfold food inflation, the explosion of energy prices ten times higher.”

Last month, President Emmanuel Macron sparked outrage among NATO allies after saying he could not rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine.

Later, several senior officials in Paris, including Foreign Minister Stéphane Sejourn and France’s chief of staff, came forward to clarify that Macron was not referring to sending troops to carry out combat missions in Ukraine.

“The intention of the French President is to let Vladimir Putin understand that we are aware of the stakes of the situation in Ukraine,” explained the Chief of the General Staff of the French Army, General Thierry Burckhardt. “The Ukrainian Army does not necessarily need troops to create effects with it. It is fighting with great courage and is already extremely effective,” General Burkhard stressed.

France warned that Russia will threaten Romania and the Republic of Moldova if it wins in Ukraine

This month, President Macron issued a new warning about the expansionism targeted by his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, saying the Kremlin leader could target our country and the Republic of Moldova if he wins in Ukraine.

“If we leave Ukraine alone, if we allow Ukraine to lose this war, Russia will definitely threaten Moldova, Romania and Poland,” he warned on March 15.

“If the situation in Ukraine deteriorates, we must be ready and we will be ready to take the necessary decisions to ensure that Russia never wins,” Emmanuel Macron said in a televised interview.

The “security” of the French depends on the “defeat of Russia” in Ukraine, he said, noting that those who set “limits” on aid to Ukraine are “choosing defeat.”

The war in Ukraine is “important for our Europe and for France,” insisted the head of the French state. “If Russia wins this war, trust in Europe will be reduced to zero,” and “we will have no security,” he added.

What weapons did France send to Ukraine?

On March 4, the French Ministry of Defense published a complete list of the weapons that Paris sent to Ukraine to defend against Russian aggression, showing that it provided Kyiv with air defense systems, salvo fire systems, artillery systems, armored vehicles, drones, trucks, small arms, warships, fuel and other types of equipment.

Among the military complexes sent by Paris to Kyiv are 6 Mistral air defense systems, two Crotale air defense systems and one SAMP-T. In addition to them, Ukraine also received from France:

• 250 VAB (Véhicule de l’Avant Blindé) armored personnel carriers;

• 38 BMP AMH-10;

• 30 Caesar self-propelled howitzers;

• 4 rocket salvo fire systems of the LRU;

• 6 TRF1 howitzers;

• 10 heavy mortars of 120 mm caliber;

• 60 drones and 10 drone detection systems;

• over a million small arms cartridges.

The total cost of this equipment is approximately 2.6 billion euros, but the French Ministry of Defense classified some data, such as the number of missiles supplied for the Crotale air defense systems or the number of SCALP missiles, the French equivalent of the anti-missile system. – Storm Shadow long-range aviation missiles sent by Great Britain to Ukraine.

The new strategy of aid to Ukraine, adopted by the French government, provides for military aid to Kyiv of up to 3 billion euros.

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