Macron calls US-Russia diesel deal 'inappropriate and ineffective'

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Macron calls US-Russia diesel deal 'inappropriate and ineffective'.

French President Emmanuel Macron is taking a confrontational course toward the US administration—at least on one central point of Russia policy. On Friday, he attacked head-on the agreement reached between Moscow and Washington on Russian diesel. Macron also used the occasion for a fundamental message: the Europeans "will not abandon Ukraine." This is reported by the French daily Le Monde in its live blog on the war in Ukraine.

Macron is publicly applying pressure—precisely at the moment when a bilateral agreement between the US and Russia touches Europe's sanctions architecture. Paris is positioning itself against a deal concluded past Europe's back—and against a line that, from the Élysée's perspective, exerts no leverage over Moscow in any case.

The measure is "inappropriate and ineffective."

Why Macron is now speaking of a "war of resistance"

Macron linked the criticism of the agreement with a fundamental framing of the entire conflict. It is "a war of resistance against Russia's war of aggression," the president said. In doing so, he explicitly distances himself from the reading of a proxy war and gives European support for Ukraine a narrative foundation: those who defend themselves receive assistance—those who attack do not.

This choice of words is no coincidence at an EU summit. Macron is making clear that Paris, on the question of how the war is politically framed, is neither hedging with Moscow nor with bilateral special arrangements.

"It is a war of resistance against Russia's war of aggression."

The €70 billion gap that no one can talk away any longer

At the same summit of the 27 heads of state and government, the financing of Ukraine was also on the agenda. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had presented a concrete deficit: €70 billion is missing, according to his figures, for the year 2027. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen explicitly confirmed this scale, according to Le Monde.

The number thus no longer falls into the category of "we'll see." It is quantified because the Ukrainian side has named it and the Commission president has confirmed it. If the gap is not closed, support programs for Ukraine come under pressure—and the EU must deliver answers in the budget deliberations that go beyond declarations of intent.

Three points that matter now

• Tone: France is sharpening its tone toward Washington—and doing so publicly, at the EU summit.
• Money: The €70 billion gap for 2027 has been quantified. The EU can no longer treat this as a marginal note.
• Legitimacy: Macron is establishing the term "war of resistance" as the European line of interpretation against Moscow.

The escalation between Paris and Washington comes at a moment when European Ukraine policy is already under pressure. Macron's dual strategy—criticism of the special track plus reaffirmation of support—positions France as the voice of a harder line.