French lawmakers on Tuesday backed a security accord with Ukraine, after a debate that showed deep divisions over President Emmanuel Macron's policy towards Kyiv.
Following a tense debate, the National Assembly lower house held a non-binding vote on the government's strategy including a bilateral security agreement signed by Macron and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky last month.
Lawmakers eventually backed the pact by a wide margin, with 372 votes in favour and 99 against, while 101 abstained.
The far-right National Rally (RN), which leads Macron's alliance by a wide margin ahead of the June European elections, abstained, while the far-left France Unbowed party (LFI) voted against it, as expected.
While the vote is symbolic, it gave political parties an opportunity to publicly express their positions in relation to Macron's strategy on the conflict as Russia's invasion of Ukraine stretches into its third year.
A major hot-button topic
The 10-year security pact with Ukraine includes commitments by Paris to deliver more arms, train soldiers and send up to €3 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2024.
Macron has also adopted a tougher stance towards Russia, urging Ukraine's allies to urgently do more. He also did not rule out the presence of Western troops in Ukraine which has created a backlash.
Ukrainian officials had told Reuters they were worried that a vote not overwhelmingly in favour of Kyiv would be negative symbolically and could hurt Macron's efforts to ramp up his country's support in the coming months.
Earlier on Tuesday, LFI leader Manuel Bompard told LCI channel that the vote in Parliament on support for Ukraine had "a masquerade dimension". "This agreement has already been ratified by the President, it is not a binding vote", he said.
Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old leader of the RN, said his party would abstain because of its "red lines".
"We need to be very careful", said Bardella. "Yes to support for Ukraine, but no to war with Russia."
The RN opposes the dispatch of Western ground troops and the possibility of Ukraine becoming a member of NATO and the EU.
In France's polarised political landscape, Russia's war against Ukraine has emerged as a major hot-button topic.
Macron has been seeking to hammer home the importance of greater support for Ukraine, which is running out of ammunition, insisting that Europe's security is at stake.
French ground troops
Allies of Macron at the weekend lambasted the far-right National Rally at the launch of their European election campaign, accusing them of betraying the interests of France and Europe and flirting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking to French broadcaster BFM TV on Monday, Zelensky said that there was no need for French ground troops in his war-torn country as long as "Ukraine holds".
"Your children are not going to die in Ukraine," he said.
The Senate upper house was set to hold similar debates on Wednesday.
(with newswires)
