ATHENS 

After saying that sending troops to Ukraine “cannot be ruled out,” French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday faced flak from the opposition on both the left and right.

Marine Le Pen, parliamentary party leader of the far-right National Rally, said on X: “Tens of millions of French people presently are terribly worried about the comments made by Emmanuel Macron yesterday, who indicated that he did not rule out sending troops to Ukraine.”

She added: “Emmanuel Macron speaks about war with great lightness. I remind you that war is the worst thing that can happen to a country. And we should all remember that.”

Similarly, Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of the left-wing France Unbowed, said on X: “Sending troops to Ukraine would make us belligerents. War against Russia would be madness. This belligerent verbal escalation by a nuclear power against another major nuclear power is already an irresponsible act.”

He added: “It is high time to negotiate peace in Ukraine with mutual security clauses!”

In a related development, the French Presidency said Macron asked the government to make a declaration in parliament on a Feb. 16 bilateral security agreement with Ukraine, and the situation in Ukraine, followed by a debate and a vote.

On Monday, following a summit in Paris in support of Ukraine, Macron said: “There is no consensus today that ground troops should be deployed in an official, accepted, and endorsed way. But nothing should be ruled out.”

He added: "We will do everything necessary to ensure that Russia cannot win this war."

Also on Monday, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico warned of an escalation in the Ukraine conflict.

Speaking to media representatives in Bratislava, Fico said that some members of NATO and the European Union were considering sending their own soldiers to Ukraine.

Sending French troops to Ukraine would mean NATO soldiers facing off against Russian forces, and risks a sharp escalation in the war.