"This war is fought on two levels. One is the purely military war that we are witnessing in Ukraine, and the other is the war of a hybrid, propaganda nature. That's where we should look for Macron's actions.
This is what the journalist Svetoslav Terziev commented before the BNR.
He reminded that France is not currently participating in any military operations, and the country's president clearly said that there are currently no French instructors in Ukraine.
Terziev explained why the war escalated so much at the level of propaganda:
"France and Russia already have a very difficult relationship. Macron was the latest to refuse to negotiate with Vladimir Putin, even criticized for continuing to negotiate with him or seek contacts when other Western leaders had given up. He was looking for an opportunity until the end to somehow come to an understanding with him and direct him in another direction.
That didn't happen. It turned out otherwise – Russia set out to damage French interests wherever she could. First it hit French interests in Africa, which is very painful for France. Naturally, this could not leave Macron indifferent, and he sought a response. She came where it is very painful for Russia – in her backyard – France began supplying arms to Armenia, which is in conflict with Azerbaijan and which no longer relies on Russia's guarantees of peace and neutrality that it had under the very loose alliance of former Soviet states. Russia felt very strongly affected, reacted sharply and warned France that there would be consequences.
In his words, Russia seeks to set foot in Africa, drive away the French and accommodate its interests. That is why Macron is so sharp in the field of hybrid warfare, he noted.
"He will not start military action against Russia, he is not Napoleon. He will not reach Moscow, nor will he actually send soldiers to the front in Ukraine, but in this way he is playing on Putin's nerves," explained Terziev.
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According to him, Emmanuel Macron's European ambitions arose after Germany gave up its ambitions to be a leader:
"After Angela Merkel, Olaf Scholz is seen to be much more pale in the European political landscape. Macron used this period to try to make him a leader, but somehow the weight of France compared to Germany is not so great. The problem is that leadership in the EU is not official, it is informal.
The journalist pointed out that the engine of the EU is both France and Germany. The EU arose because of the pacification of these countries, to overcome their age-old enmities, he reminded and emphasized that this should not be forgotten. According to him, there is no way that France and Germany cannot go together in the EU. If any leader tries to do something independently, it creates problems for the whole of Europe, Svetoslav Terziev was categorical.
We don't have the bright leadership in Europe that we need, he expressed his opinion. According to him, even in these European elections, the politicians who play a leading role are quite pale.