The real reason Macron is suddenly talking tough on Russia

What should we make of the recent hardening of Emmanuel Macron’s position on the war in Ukraine? At the beginning of the conflict, France’s president spent countless hours talking with Vladimir Putin; now, he spends his time entertaining scenarios in which French troops could be sent to Ukraine, and calling on other European leaders to stop being ‘cowards’. The Wall Street Journal reports today that Macron used secret conversations with US president Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to get them to change the way they deal with Ukraine. What explains Macron’s new approach?

It is possible that the French leader has seen the light and that France is undergoing a permanent strategic shift that turn it into a central player in Eastern Europe. In that case, however, one wonders why the rhetoric is not being buttressed yet by a real military build-up at home and more vigorous military assistance to Ukraine.