With the second round of France's presidential election on Sunday, what could the vote for the French response to the Ukraine crisis? And when other leaders have stopped, why has President Macron has continued diplomatic efforts with Vladimir Putin?

Stephanie Pezard, senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, joins Arthur Snell to discuss France's approach to Russia's war, and what the conflict means for European defence and security.

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Resources to help the Ukrainian people can be found here: https://ukrainewar.carrd.co/

• “I doubt that a lot of the people who voted for Marine Le Pen thought about the Russia factor when casting their votes.”
• “It’s always been important for France to have its own military voice, rather than seeing itself following the initiative of others.”
• “This is France trying to give diplomacy as much of a chance as it can.”



DOOMSDAY WATCH was written and presented by Arthur Snell, and produced by Robin Leeburn with Jacob Archbold. Theme tune and original music by Paul Hartnoll. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. DOOMSDAY WATCH is a Podmasters production.

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