Ewolucja postawy elit politycznych V Republiki Francuskiej wobec Rosji w kontekście wojny na Ukrainie
Evolution of the attitude of the political elites of the French Fifth Republic toward Russia in the context of the war in Ukraine

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to characterize the changing attitude of the French elites towards Russia in consequence of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict that has been developing since February 24, 2022, and more broadly – to describe how the evolution of Paris’s current policy toward Moscow is perceived in France. This change is shown through the lens of the reaction of French political parties to the conflict, the assessment of this stance by the French media, and the scientific reflection of French academics on the current policy of the French establishment toward Russia.The article will verify the hypothesis that the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war made France change its previously moderate stance toward Russia and gave a majority of the French elite cause to express their criticism of Moscow’s foreign policy more forcefully than before. This was facilitated by the electoral campaign preceding simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections in France, which made it necessary for the political actors participating in the election race to evaluate the events taking place in Eastern Europe on an ongoing basis. The initial assumption that the French elites’ attitude towards Moscow is fundamentally different from the political thinking about Russia in Central European countries will also be verified, and confirmed even in an amended version. This is the case supposedly because France, which views Russia as a crucial guarantor of France’s strong international position, believes that Russia must be a part of the European security architecture in order to ensure the stability of the EU. With regard to France’s stance toward Russia in the wake of the conflict in Ukraine, the author’s goal is to reflect on the nature of the current French debate on the topic. This justifies considering, above all, the books published in France after February 24, 2022, and how they portray French-Russian relations

• Details
• Contents