New purpose, old action.

The French navy's seizure of the oil tanker Tagor 400 nautical miles off the coast of France on May 31st was justified by President Emmanuel Macron, who accused Russia of evading Western sanctions and violating international maritime law.

Conversely, Russia declared it an act of international piracy. The Tagor is the fourth oil tanker seized by the French navy to date. Therefore, what is more noteworthy is the timing rather than the nature of the action. This reveals the new objectives Macron is pursuing with an action that is not fundamentally new.

French President Emmanuel Macron

Photo: Reuters

France is doing this against the backdrop of the US becoming strategically bogged down in the Iran war to the point where it has almost no time or energy left to focus on supporting Ukraine and hindering Russia. The EU and NATO are also experiencing internal turmoil, overwhelmed by military and financial support for Ukraine as the US has become indifferent and Russia seems to remain firmly entrenched despite the EU implementing 19 packages of sanctions and embargoes to date.

Supporting Ukraine by depleting Russia's income from oil and gas exports was stated by President Macron as a goal. However, that was only a secondary goal, not his primary objective.

President Macron wants to demonstrate, through concrete action, a fundamental shift in France's policy toward Russia. Essentially, this shift is from maintaining cooperative relations to engaging in antagonism with Russia, accepting the long-term deterioration of bilateral relations. President Macron wants to show the outside world that France remains a global military power and is leading the EU. He also intends to make his mark on world politics before it's too late, given the limited time remaining in his presidency.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/muc-dich-moi-voi-hanh-dong-cu-185260602205649524.htm