Emmanuel Macron welcomed Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky to Paris this morning to discuss ‘the conditions for a just and lasting peace’. But is the French leader nervous about what peace in Ukraine might mean for Europe – and for France?

There may be another reason why Macron is concerned at what peace in Ukraine might bring. It is an anxiety shared by others in Europe

In an interview with a Sunday newspaper, France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, declared that ‘peace is within reach, if Vladimir Putin abandons his delusional hope of reconstituting the Soviet Empire by first subjugating Ukraine’.

Macron showed little enthusiasm initially for the 28-point peace plan put forward by the USA and Russia, warning that Putin was not a man to be trusted. The plan has since been modified. And Macron appears more ready to accept a peace deal, particularly in light of the corruption scandal that has engulfed Ukraine in recent days.

Critics on the left and the right in France have accused Macron of exploiting the war in Ukraine for his own ends; first for electoral advantage in 2022 and 2024. And more recently to keep himself relevant. Since his centrist party was beaten into third place in last year’s parliamentary elections, Macron has scant domestic authority.........

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