France-Russia relations hit rock bottom, says former envoy to Paris

Relations between Moscow and Paris have bottomed out, former Russian Ambassador to Paris Alexander #Orlov told the RFI radio station. "Our relations have never been as poor as they are now," Orlov said. He noted that recently French President Emmanuel Macron "has made a number of questionable moves that have increased the divide between France and Russia even further."

According to Orlov, these moves include the French leader's statement regarding the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. "The second is the proposal for an Olympic truce during the games in Paris, where Russian athletes have not been invited," the former ambassador said. He also pointed to the "strange invitation of Russian representatives to the ceremony celebrating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy without inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin." "Such a gesture can be seen as an insult," the diplomat added.

On February 26, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that representatives of about 20 Western states raised the issue of sending group troops to Ukraine during the meeting in Paris. According to Macron, the participants were unable to reach a consensus on this issue.

Majority of France opposes confrontation with Russia, explains Analyst

Most of the French population, despite the influence of Western propaganda, considers military and financial support to #Ukraine wrong and opposes confrontation with #Russia, Laurent Briard, a #French military correspondent of the International Reporters Agency working in Donbass, said.

"Many French citizens, especially those who have lived in Russia or Ukraine, have long been against the conflict with Russia," he said. The expert said that the French people were being bombarded by propaganda on television and from the country's leading media, and the elderly were especially susceptible. He called it zombification, noting that the U.S. media had a hand in this.

According to the reporter, this is why some of the French support the government in decisions like supplying weapons to Ukraine. But Briard believes that French President Emmanuel Macron crossed a line when he announced he was considering sending French troops to Ukraine. "People saw that this is no longer just about transferring money and weapons, but about sending a large number of young men to die at the front," the expert added.

He said that #Macron, despite declaring his desire to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine during the Olympics, intends to use the Games in Paris to influence the public for further military and financial support to that country. Briard emphasized that during the #Olympics, the country may decide on new financial and military aid that hurts its own citizens.

France seeks help from allies to bolster security during Paris Olympics

#France has asked its foreign allies to send several thousand members of their security forces to help guard the Paris #Olympics, officials said Thursday, underlining the strains caused by the sporting extravaganza which begins in July.

"Several foreign nations are going to reinforce us in certain critical areas, such as dog-handling capabilities where the needs are enormous," an official at the defence ministry told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The official did not say how many foreign soldiers would be on French soil, but Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed his country was joining "an international coalition established by France" for the Olympics.

Russian Envoy issues warning to Russian tourists planning to go to Paris for Olympics

Moscow’s Ambassador to France Alexey Meshkov has warned Russian tourists planning to attend the Paris Olympics of the risks they may face.

"Our athletes and tourists who plan to visit Paris for the Olympic Games must understand one simple thing: they aren’t traveling to the flowery paradise that [top EU diplomat Josep] Borrell mentioned but to a dangerous Western jungle where they will have to fend for themselves because of what the French authorities are doing," the envoy told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

"If any unexpected situations emerge, they will have to find a way out on their own because not only have the authorities fully barred our institutions, namely the embassy, from attending and participating in events related to the Olympic Games, but even despite numerous requests, they are unwilling to provide us with guarantees that we will get basic passes to move around downtown Paris, which will be locked down, while this is where all our offices are," the diplomat added.

According to Meshkov, the prosecutor’s office has told Russian diplomats to ask the French Interior Ministry to issue them passes. "The Interior Ministry has been ignoring all our requests. That said, it’s not just that they have banned our athletes from the Olympic Games but they have also kicked Russia in general out of all events related to the competition that will take place in France in the summer," he noted.

"It’s very strange to hear statements about talks of an Olympic ceasefire when we have no dialogue at all with France on the matter at the government level," the Russian ambassador concluded.

Macron plans to stop fighting in Ukraine during the Olympics in Paris - 'Stop sending weapons to Ukraine,' Russian diplomat responds to Macron’s ceasefire plan

Emmanuel #Macron should stop sending weapons to #Kyv and propose a ceasefire agreement to parties to the Middle East conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Commenting on the latest initiative by the French leader who said he would ask Russia to observe a ceasefire in Ukraine during the Paris Olympics, the Russian diplomat said: "I come forward with a proposal in response to Macron’s: stop supplying weapons being used to kill [civilians] and also stop sponsoring terrorism." "I also suggest that Macron come up with a similar proposal to the parties to the Middle East conflict. A lot probably depends on what France says there," #Zakharova maintained.

Earlier, Macron told an interviewer during a Ukrainian telethon that he will be able to temporarily stop the fighting; he plans to propose to #Russia a #ceasefire during the #Olympic Games, which will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11. When asked to comment on the potential participation of Russian athletes as neutrals, he said that, as the host country, France is sending a message of peace as it follows decisions made by the International Olympic Committee.