Macron gathers leaders of French parliamentary parties to discuss situation in Ukraine

The Élysée Palace has sent an invitation to the leaders of the French parties represented in parliament to a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron on the "situation in Ukraine".

According to Le Figaro, Macron's meeting with parliamentary leaders is scheduled for the morning of 7 March and will take place in the Saint-Denis format in the Paris suburbs. The meeting will also be attended by French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.

The French president received party leaders in the same format in October 2023, a few days after Hamas's attacks on Israeli civilians, Le Figaro recalls.

The Élysée Palace did not announce the details of the meeting, but it is likely to concern the upcoming parliamentary debate on security cooperation between Ukraine and France, as well as Macron's statements about sending Western troops to Ukraine.

Macron's words provoked a negative reaction from the governments of the allied countries, whose leaders were quick to say that they would not send troops.

While most NATO countries have ruled out sending troops to Ukraine – including major players such as Germany, the UK and the US – some, such as Lithuania and Estonia, have spoken in favour of this proposal.

Moscow reacted to Macron's remarks with anger, warning that the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine would inevitably lead to a conflict between Russia and NATO.

Read more: Macron says his remarks on Western troops in Ukraine were "thought through"