During his speech Wednesday, the Ukrainian president called on French companies to “leave the Russian market”.
by and
The exercise has become ritual, almost mechanical. Every day or almost the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, speaks videoconferencing before foreign parliamentarians to maintain the mobilization of the international community around Ukraine, pounded by the Russian army since the beginning of the offensive, the February 24th. Every time, it appears in what has become its war suit – Khaki t-shirt and three-day beard – and then it adapts its speech to the audience.
After the United States, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, Israel, Italy and the European Union, it was the turn of France, Wednesday, March 23rd. Faced with French parliamentarians, Mr. Zelensky appealed to the national currency, freedom, equality, fraternity. “We are waiting for France, your leadership, which you can make Russia seek peace to end this war against freedom, equality and fraternity, against all that made Europe united , free and diverse, “said the president.
For the occasion, it was also a question of the “ruins of Verdun”, compared to the photos of the Martyr de Maroupol. The Ukrainian Head of State also referred to the negotiations carried out for eight years by Germany and France against Russia as part of the Normandy format, to try to reach peace in the Donbass. “All these efforts were crushed by Russian artillery,” said Zelensky.
The presence of French companies in Russia
“Tomorrow, it will a month that Ukraine is fighting heroically against Russia. We need more help for freedom to lose,” he continued, calling French companies, In particular Leroy Merlin, Auchan and Renault, to “leave the Russian market”. “The principles are worth more than the profits,” he insisted. The DIY brain sign Leroy Merlin is very established in Russia, its second market behind France, with 36,000 employees in this country, who work in one hundred seven hypermarkets and sixty-two cities. The chain of Auchan stores is also emblematic of the great distribution in Russia, where it operates 231 stores, for a turnover of 3.2 billion euros, more than 10% of its global activity.
President Zelensky concluded by evoking another national figure, more unexpected: “We must say goodbye to war as we said goodbye to Belmondo.” The French actor, dead in September 2021, was very popular Ex-USSR.
You have 64.17% of this article to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.