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French President Emmanuel Macron recently pledged an additional €2 billion in arms for Kiev
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Paris on Saturday to protest what they perceive as a militaristic approach to the Ukraine conflict by French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO.
Macron’s announcement on Wednesday of a new €2 billion ($2.16 billion) military aid package for Ukraine followed weeks of his efforts to garner support for sending Western troops to the country as peacekeepers. According to the French leader, the new arms package will include surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, and drones.
The anti-war rally on Saturday was organized by Florian Philippot, a former politician from the right-wing National Rally, and his party, The Patriots.
Footage captured by RT showed thousands of protesters marching through the French capital, chanting slogans such as “Macron, we don’t want your war!” and “Let’s quickly leave NATO!”
Many protesters were also seen holding placards with the message “Macron, we will not die for Ukraine.”
In a post on X on Saturday, Philippot wrote, “A mad crowd for #Peace… Thousands and thousands of French people are shouting ‘Macron, resign!’ in the streets of Paris right now!”
Incroyable !
Un monde fou pour la à l’appel des Patriotes ce jour !
« Macron démission ! » hurlent des milliers et des milliers de Français dans les rues de Paris en ce moment ! (cf vidéo ⤵️)
Génial ! Ne lâchons rien on les aura ! 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷
— Florian Philippot (@f_philippot)
Earlier this month, The Patriots also protested in the French capital after Macron suggested deploying France’s nuclear weapons in other European allied states, citing uncertainty regarding Washington’s commitment to the continent.
Following an international summit in Paris on Thursday, Macron announced a joint French-British plan to advocate for deploying troops to Ukraine as a “reassurance force” should a ceasefire be established between Kiev and Moscow. Macron initially raised the idea of sending Western troops into Ukraine last February.
Russia has firmly rejected the possibility of NATO troops being deployed to the conflict zone, asserting that the presence of troops from the US-led military bloc, even under the guise of peacekeepers, would constitute direct NATO involvement in the conflict.