French President Emmanuel Macron said that Paris does not plan to send French troops to Ukraine immediately, though he did not rule out their possible participation in so-called «deterrence forces» once active fighting ends.

In an interview with RTL radio, Macron noted that the French public should not panic and that concerns about an imminent deployment were unfounded. He stressed that there is no decision to send troops to Ukraine at this stage.

At the same time, he allowed for the possibility that French forces could take part in the planned deterrence structures intended to support Ukraine’s security and assist in training the Ukrainian military after the cessation of hostilities. Macron pointed out that around twenty countries have expressed readiness to contribute to all three components of these forces — land, air and naval.

He also emphasized that the forces would not necessarily be stationed inside Ukraine. According to him, they could instead be deployed in neighboring countries while closely coordinating with Ukrainian troops, including in efforts to secure Ukraine’s airspace.

In September, Paris hosted a meeting of the so-called «coalition of the willing,» chaired by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Macron. Following the summit, the French president stated that twenty-six countries had indicated their readiness to deploy deterrence forces in Ukraine once a ceasefire is in place.