French lawmakers pressure government to seize Russian assets

French lawmakers on Wednesday adopted a resolution urging France and allies to provide more support for Ukraine, including by seizing tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets.

France has until now voiced opposition to seizing frozen Russian assets, arguing that such a move would be against international agreements in a stance that puts Paris at odds with its ally Britain.

But lawmakers hope that the non-binding resolution, adopted in a vote late on Wednesday, could pile pressure on French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Francois Bayrou to change their position on the issue.

The resolution encourages the European Union to use the frozen Russian assets "to support the Ukrainian resistance and reconstruction of Ukraine".

An amendment was added to encourage the European Union to "build independent European defence capabilities".

Signs have emerged in recent days that Paris could be convinced to change its position.

On Tuesday, Bayrou said he did not rule out the European Union seizing frozen Russian funds to help Ukraine but his finance minister, Eric Lombard, warned that such a move could risk Europe's financial stability.

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On Wednesday, government spokeswoman Sophie Primas said Macron and Bayrou had asked the finance minister "to study the consequences of such a decision in greater depth".

"For the moment, it's a no," she added.

The resolution also calls on the European Union, NATO and other allied countries to "continue and increase their political, economic and military support for Ukraine".

The far-right National Rally and hard-left France Unbowed parties oppose the seizure of Moscow's assets.

"The Russians have substantial assets of ours in their country, so let's not get too clever with that," said Erwan Balanant, a member of parliament from the centrist MoDem party.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union and G7 have frozen some 300 billion euros ($327 bn) of assets of the Russian Central Bank, according to the European Union, as well as private assets of individuals such as yachts and real estate.

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EU countries are already using income earned from frozen Russian assets to help arm Ukraine and finance its post-war reconstruction, a windfall worth 2.5 to three billion euros a year.

Source: AFP