War in Ukraine: Macron “leaves free” French companies in Russia – The HuffPost

POLITICS – The choice not to choose. Emmanuel Macron confirmed this Thursday, March 24 that he gave French companies not affected by the Western measures taken against Russia the possibility of maintaining their activities in this country. “I would like all companies operating in sectors under sanctions and with partners under sanctions respect what France decides and acts, this is what is done by all French actors”, declared the President of the Republic in Brussels from the outset, on the sidelines of the NATO summits. , the G7 and the European Union, as you can see below, before being more conciliatory for the others. “My position is to let the companies decide for themselves”, he thus added, speaking of firms that are not linked to the restrictions, before continuing: “It is the choice of the leaders of these companies to appreciate, according to their balances, their activities, to make the appropriate choices. ” Emmanuel Macron also took advantage of this press conference to propose the creation of an emergency plan for food security, in agreement with the G7, in order to respond to the risks of “famine” in many countries that could be caused by the war. in Ukraine. He also explained that the “sanctions package” adopted by the West against Russia places the country on the verge of asphyxiation. “The Russian economy is in default as I speak to you, its currency has unscrewed , his isolation is growing”, launched the Head of State to journalists, promising to further increase the pressure on the Kremlin to seek “by all means” to obtain “peace”, a month after the outbreak of the invasion.Pressure on French firmsIn this context, the large French groups still present in Russia are in a hurry from all sides to pack up. “Renault, Auchan, Leroy Merlin and others, they must stop sponsoring Russia’s war machine”, thundered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday before the French Parliament, taking senators and deputies to witness : “Everyone will remember that values ​​are worth more than profits.” Two days earlier, on Monday, employees of Leroy Merlin Ukraine were already calling on the brands of the Mulliez Family Association (AFM) which controls Leroy Merlin, Auchan or Decathlon to leave the country led by Vladimir Putin after the bombing of a Leroy store Merlin in kyiv, the day before, considering that the brand was “one of the ten largest taxpayers for the Russian state budget”. “Every ruble paid to the Russian state budget in the form of taxes helps the aggressor to obtain weapons and kill more Ukrainians”, still estimated these employees, who collected more than 15,000 signatures online in four days. Since then, Renault has announced that it is suspending the activities of its Moscow plant, the others are clinging on. See also on The HuffPost: The emotion of French deputies in the face of Volodymyr Zelensky