Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions have exacerbated other factors driving up energy and other commodity prices. With no end in sight for the Ukraine war, Macron said, the French should prepare for costs to remain high. “This war will continue,” he said in a televised interview on France’s national holiday, Bastille Day. “Summer, early fall will be very difficult.” “Russia uses energy, like food, as a weapon of war,” Macron said. “We should prepare for the scenario where we have to go without all the Russian gas.” He said the government would prepare a “sobriety plan” to save energy, which would start with switching off street lights at night when they are not needed. French President Emmanuel Macron has warned his country to prepare for a complete cutoff of Russian gas. AP France will continue to seek to diversify its natural gas sources, he said, calling for a faster shift to offshore wind farms and more European cross-border energy cooperation to overcome the current crisis. Macron’s political opponents on the far right and far left have blamed EU sanctions for reducing the purchasing power of French consumers, while they have failed to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine. The French president gave no indication during the interview of a change in policy towards Ukraine. “What do you want us to do?” asked. “We want to stop this war without getting involved in this war. At the same time, we want to do everything so that Russia does not win, so that Ukraine can defend its territory. We don’t want a world war.”
