At National Assembly, war in Ukraine upsets end of parliamentary session

One last debate was planned in the hemicycle on Thursday morning on the sanitary crisis. It has been widely devoted to the conflict in Ukraine.

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The offset is both striking and involuntary. Members had an appointment, this Thursday, February 24 in public session, officially for the last time of their mandate. On the agenda, a discussion without a vote provided for two months on the health situation, on the basis of Article 50-1 of the Constitution. One way to pay two years of often stormy discussions between the majority and its oppositions on the management of the CVIV-19 pandemic. It was not counting on the declaration of war formulated by Russia to Ukraine in the night of Wednesday on Thursday, which upset the planned session.

The Russian head of state Vladimir Putin has launched in the wake of his announcement a multiple offensive on the Ukrainian soil, concretizing his expansionary vulneys since the recognition of the separatist territories of Donbass, Monday. In response, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron condemned, Thursday, on a solemn speech, “a war act” before announcing that Parliament would be the recipient of a message on his part, as permitted by Article 18 of the Constitution. It will be read Friday, February 25, at 2:30 pm, simultaneously by the President of the National Assembly, Richard Ferrand, and that of the Senate, Gérard Larcher, in both Houses. Prime Minister Jean Castex will be on the banks of the National Assembly.

In recent days, several parliamentarians, all political edges confused, had asked for a debate in view of the circumstances. Thursday morning at 9 o’clock, difficult for members to get rid of the severity of events and therefore noticing the limited relevance of a discussion on the management of the health crisis, while the war broke into European soil. “Everyone understands that the situation was a bit particular,” said David Habib (Pyrenees-Atlantiques, PS) in the preamble. The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, was the first to speak at the platform to condemn the Russian offensive and manifest his solidarity with regard to the Ukrainian people, “at a time when the images and noise of the missiles in the Ukrainian sky are heard and feel “.

A link committee Friday

In a haemicycle with the ranks of little provided, the representatives of each group have succeeded themselves to share their support for the Ukrainians, while denouncing the warrior approach of the head of the Kremlin. “The president Putin violates international rights and it is important that we can, here, in the heart of democracy that is the National Assembly, denounce it in the fatest way,” said Christophe Castaner, the President of the The Republic (LRM) group. “Europe is at war,” said the member (Republicans, LR) of the Channel, Philippe Gosselin, before she requested that “France be at the forefront of mobilization”. “His speech [that of Vladimir Putin] is a cultural war,” said the member Modem of the Established French Frederic Petit.

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/Media reports.