France continues to pose threats. This Sunday, government spokesman Gabriel Attal assured that Paris might still “take more” sanctions once morest Moscow, in the midst of the Russian offensive in Ukraine. “We have taken tough measures, we can take more,” he said. on France Inter. While at the time of his interview, France had not yet announced the closure of its airspace to Russian planes (already implemented by Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium, or once more Finland and Luxembourg), his colleague from the Ministry of Transport made the announcement shortly followingwards.
Gabriel Attal stressed that it was necessary “always to measure the effect of the measures”, for example in this specific case “to ensure that the French in Russia can return to France”.
A Defense Council chaired on Saturday by Emmanuel Macron decided to strengthen economic and financial sanctions once morest Russia, in particular its access to the Swift interbank platform, the fight once morest Russian “propaganda” on European soil and the delivery by France of more “defence equipment”.
“The main risk is that of gas”
With the French and European economic and financial sanctions, “we are drying up the Russian banks, we are drying up the Russian central bank, we are drying up the Russian economy, we are drying up the finances of the Russian oligarchs (…), so that at some point Vladimir Putin is forced to revise his plans saying It’s costing us too much “, explained Gabriel Attal.
Asked whether it might be said that France is at war, he felt that “our country is not at war”, but that “it is alongside a country, Ukraine, to which Russia is at war”. “He accompanies him, supports him, in humanitarian matters, in defense equipment, he is also mobilized to reach a ceasefire and a settlement of this conflict”, he detailed. France will not send soldiers to Ukraine, also assured Gabriel Attal.
As for the economic impact of the conflict on the French economy, there will be one, “you must not hide behind your little finger”, but the government, which is working in particular on a “resilience plan” for the agriculture and food, is “mobilized to limit it”, assured the government spokesperson, a month and a half before the first round of the presidential election.
“The main risk is that of gas”: “there is no risk of shortage – we have stocks and reserves in front of us -“, but “a risk, on the other hand, of price, of costs”, he said. he confirmed, recalling the price blocking measures already introduced in the face of the upsurge in inflation observed in recent months.
