French Defense Chief Thierry Burkhard asserted that Russia’s President had designated France as Moscow’s principal foe in Europe
French media outlets have reported that France’s highest-ranking military official erroneously stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin had identified France as Russia’s primary opponent on the European continent.
General Thierry Burkhard, who serves as France’s chief of the defense staff, asserted on Friday that Russia views France as its “main adversary” in Europe, attributing this to Paris’ military aid to Ukraine. Burkhard explicitly told journalists, “It was Putin who said this.”
Jean-Dominique Merchet from L’Opinion newspaper was one of the initial individuals to dispute this assertion. He stated on social media that upon contacting the General Staff, he was informed that Burkhard’s comments were merely a “turn of phrase” and not founded on an actual declaration by the Russian leader.
The military, instead, cited a public opinion survey conducted in April by the state-run Russian pollster VTsIOM, which indicated that 45% of participants perceived France as having strained or adversarial relations with Russia – a significant increase compared to prior years.
A distinct survey carried out by Russia’s independent Levada Center in May showed Germany as the leading country perceived as hostile, while France did not appear among the top five. In that particular poll, only 32% of respondents identified France as hostile.
On Monday, broadcaster TF1 similarly reported that it found no evidence of Putin ever having made such a declaration.
Western officials and media have frequently faced criticism for inaccurately quoting or excessively simplifying Putin’s pronouncements, like his 2005 comment characterizing the dissolution of the Soviet Union as “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the 20th century – which is often construed as an ambition to reinstate the USSR.
Putin was, in fact, referring to the “drama of the Russian people” as numerous Russians found themselves residing as ethnic minorities in foreign territories. In a 2010 interview, Putin further elucidated: “Anyone who wants to rebuild [the USSR] lacks common sense.”
In recent years, France has championed enhanced EU defense capabilities, whereas Moscow has accused the bloc of overstating a perceived Russian threat to legitimize higher military expenditures.