France threatened Russia with “total economic war”

The French Minister of Economy and Finance called the Western sanctions against Russia “extraordinarily effective” and said that the EU countries would seek the “collapse” of the Russian economy. The Kremlin called the statement “aggressive”

EU countries intend to start a “total economic war” against Russia, said Minister of Economy and Finance of France Bruno Le Maire on air of radio station France Info. “Sanctions are extremely effective. We are going to wage an all-out economic and financial war against Russia. <...> We are going to cause the collapse of the Russian economy,” the minister said.

“We want to attack the heart of the Russian system, we are targeting Vladimir Putin, we are targeting the oligarchs, but we are also targeting the entire Russian economy, and the Russian people will also pay the consequences,” he said.

Le Maire called the sanctions an “extremely effective” tool and cited the damage to the ruble exchange rate and foreign exchange reserves as an example. At the same time, the minister recognizedthat the measures taken may have a negative impact on the economies of the EU countries, but those, according to him, “are ready to pay this price.”

Le Maire’s statement about the “economic war” against Russia is not the first such aggressive statement, said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, RBC correspondent reports.