【Text by Observers Network, Qi Qian】

According to AFP and "France 24", on the evening of November 20, the remarks made by Fabien Mandon, the highest-ranking military official and Chief of the French Armed Forces, caused a huge uproar across France, and were strongly opposed by all political parties in the country.

On that day, during a speech to local mayors, Mandon warned that France must be prepared to "sacrifice children" to deal with the threat from Russia.

Mandon said that France has the economic and demographic strength to defeat Russia, but lacks the "spiritual strength" to confront threats.

"We have all the knowledge, economic and demographic strength to deter the Moscow regime from further adventures," Mandon said, "what we lack is the spiritual strength to accept suffering to protect our identity, and you have an important role here."

Mandon continued: "Let's be honest, if our country is unwilling to accept losing children, or to suffer economic damage due to prioritizing defense production, we will face risks."

Screenshot from video of Mandon's speech on November 20

AFP reported that since the Ukraine-Russia conflict, European countries such as France have continuously supported Ukraine by increasing arms supplies, but have always maintained that they are not directly involved in the conflict. Officials including President Macron have repeatedly warned that if Russia wins, it could further expand. The French government tried to prepare the public for possible sacrifices in wars or crises, but this warning failed to resonate deeply.

Mandon's statement about being ready to "sacrifice children" sparked a huge controversy in France.

Leaders of the left-wing party "La France Insoumise" Jean-Luc Mélenchon firmly opposed Mandon's views. He wrote on X: "Mandon has no right to invite mayors or anyone else to participate in war preparations not decided by the president, the government, or parliament, nor does he have the right to predict sacrifices caused by diplomatic failures. These were not discussed with the public! Where is Macron? Why is this allowed?"

Marie-Christine Ostermann, vice president of the far-right party "National Rally", said: "People must be ready to sacrifice for the country. But the war must be just, understood, or a necessary measure for national survival. I think few French people are willing to die for Ukraine."

Fabien Rousseau, leader of the Communist Party of France, mentioned the 51,000 war memorials scattered throughout France. He said: "Is that not enough? Support the defense, but do not accept unbearable war fever rhetoric!"

Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice and a member of the center-right party "Horizons" in Macron's ruling alliance, said: "This is absurd. Is it the duty of the chief of staff to make the country so worried? This is a sign of weakness."

The EU firmly supports Ukraine against Russia, but the Ukraine-Russia conflict still shows no signs of stopping, and aid to Ukraine seems like a "bottomless pit". The European Commission estimates that EU defense spending this year will reach 392 billion euros, almost double the level before the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and is expected to reach 3.4 trillion euros over the next decade. To this end, the EU plans to increase long-term defense and space budgets to 131 billion euros.

Lately, the EU has realized that it really doesn't have any surplus, and finally decided to take action against Russian assets.

Currently, the EU is seeking to use frozen Russian assets to provide Ukraine with a 140 billion euro loan. However, due to Belgium's opposition, the relevant discussions have been postponed until December. But with the slow advance of Russia on the battlefield recently, the anxiety of Ukraine has increased day by day, and Kyiv urgently hopes to get more money from Europe. Ukrainian President Zelensky has recently frequently urged the EU to "send money quickly".

However, last week, Ukraine's anti-corruption agency disclosed a corruption case involving up to 100 million US dollars and several close allies of Zelensky. Among them, businessman Mykolaiv was accused of planning a 100 million dollar corruption case.

Media reports revealed that there is even a gold toilet in Mykolaiv's apartment, which caused anger among Ukrainian citizens.

On November 20, Russian President Putin spoke at a meeting, talking about the large-scale government corruption case recently exposed in Ukraine and severely criticized the Ukrainian leadership. He described the Ukrainian leadership as a "criminal gang sitting on a golden toilet," who are indifferent to the country.

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