French President Emmanuel Macron warned in an interview on the occasion of the national holiday that Russia is using gas as a weapon of war and that the war in Ukraine could last a long time. According to Macron, Europe must prepare for Russia to turn off the gas tap completely.
Shortly after the traditional military parade, he spoke to two journalists in the garden of the Elysée Palace. The annual interview with the president on July 14 was almost canceled by Macron. He became president in 2017 and has had only one such live interview until Thursday’s interview, in 2020.
Last month, his ruling coalition lost more than 100 seats in the parliamentary elections and with it the majority in the National Assembly. Earlier this week, for the first time since the elections, a government proposal was defeated in the House. Macron has not been able to find coalition partners or tolerance partners for a majority in the French House of Representatives. His government of Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne must find an ‘opportunity majority’ for every plan. It was the first interview with Macron on Thursday since his coalition lost the election in June.
The military parade on the Champs-Elysées this time was partly dominated by the war in Ukraine. Soldiers from Eastern European NATO countries paraded along with the French troops and French soldiers who are stationed in Central or Eastern Europe marched.