Glucksmann, a member of the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament, said France sends “only 3,000 shells per month” to Ukraine, while Russia fires “20,000 shells a day.” While some early estimates indicated that Russia could be firing as many as 20,000 shells a day, others sees that figure as being closer to 10,000.
He accused Macron of having “neglected Warsaw and Vilnius” in favor of “Beijing and Moscow,” accusing the French president of being part of “an old tradition of French elites who feel smug when they have a special relation” with the Chinese and Russian regimes.
Backing Kyiv’s war effort is a necessity not just for Ukraine — but also for France, he added, pointing to Russian cyberattacks against French hospitals. “There’s a hybrid warfare being led against our democracies, which translates militarily on the Ukrainian front.”
Rising in the polls
Glucksmann, who represents his own party Place Publique and is supported by the French Socialist Party, is leading his second EU election campaign. Though his list received barely above six percent of the vote in 2019, he has since gained traction through his campaigning on human rights issues and his hawkish stance on Ukraine.
Macron’s EU election candidate, Valérie Hayer, initially underlined similarities between Glucksmann and herself, but the presidential camp has since gone on the offense against the left-leaning candidate, with the Minister Delegate for Europe Jean-Noël Barrot calling him a “European in appearance only.”
“I’ve been fighting for Europe’s general interest for 20 years,” Glucksmann responded. “I didn’t wait for them to become realists on Vladimir Putin before I started defending Europe’s principles and interests.”
