The head of state, who is committed to appointing a new Prime Minister by Thursday evening after the censorship of Michel Barnier's government, should not end the suspense before his return from Poland at the end of the day. noon.
He is expected at 12:00 p.m. (11:00 a.m. GMT) at the home of Prime Minister Donald Tusk for a bilateral meeting followed by a working lunch, before a meeting with President Andrzej Duda.
Emmanuel Macron intends to capitalize on his meeting on Saturday at the Elysée with US President-elect Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to impose France and the Europeans in future negotiations.
Although he has lost control of the political situation in France since the dissolution of the National Assembly in June, he remains determined to influence the international scene, from the Middle East to Europe.
The Head of State will share the “results of his discussions” with MM. Trump and Zelensky, said the Polish Prime Minister, who described this meeting as “brief but important”.
– Security guarantees –
He will take stock of “European support” for Ukraine in a “new transatlantic context”, adds the Elysée.
France's “constant position” is that “we must continue to support Ukraine as intensely and for as long as necessary so that it approaches negotiations from a position of strength when the time comes”, we note in Paris.
The situation in Ukraine will be at the heart of the European summit on December 19 in Brussels. Poland, which will assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2025, has been at the forefront of supporting this country since the start of the Russian offensive in February 2022.
Donald Trump, who will enter the White House on January 20, called for an “immediate ceasefire” and negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine after his meeting on Saturday with Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Ukrainian president, for his part, suggests that he is willing to wait before recovering the areas occupied by the Russian army (nearly a fifth of the country). But he demands “effective” security guarantees from his allies in order to prevent any new Russian offensive against his country.
In the absence of a rapid prospect of Ukraine joining NATO, which Washington and Berlin oppose, the West could send soldiers to Ukraine, an idea already outlined by the French president in February.
– Troops in Ukraine –
“Frankly, we can think and work on Emmanuel's position,” said Volodymyr Zelensky alongside the leader of the German opposition and potential future chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday in kyiv.
“He suggested that troops from one country be present on the territory of Ukraine, which would guarantee us security as long as Ukraine is not in NATO,” he added.
The situation is currently very difficult for Ukraine, whose army is retreating on the Eastern Front in front of more numerous and better armed Russian forces.
According to several European media, Emmanuel Macron and Donald Tusk could discuss sending a European peacekeeping mission.
Information not confirmed by the Elysée. “They will talk about security guarantees and 'afterwards' yes, namely what tomorrow could look like, on the conditions that the Ukrainians will have set”, notes a diplomatic source without further details.
According to Elie Tenenbaum, defense expert at the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri), “France and Great Britain on the one hand, and then the Poles, the Baltics, the Scandinavian countries, who are still very committed , and perhaps other allies such as the Benelux” could participate in such an “at least air-land” device. That's a potential volume of “40,000 men”, he told AFP.
Emmanuel Macron and Donald Tusk should also discuss the free trade agreement concluded on Friday between the European Commission and South American Mercosur countries, which their two countries oppose in the name of defending agricultural interests.
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