Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged French companies to leave Russia and stop sponsoring Moscow’s “war machine” as many other Western enterprises have done in the wake of the Kremlin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
In a video address to the French parliament on March 24, Zelenskiy said that "French companies must quit the Russian market."
"Renault, Auchan, Leroy Merlin, and others must stop sponsoring the Russian war machine," he added.
The Ukrainian president has kept a high profile following Russia’s February 24 invasion and has spoken to several legislatures through video linkups, including to lawmakers in the United States, Britain, Germany, Italy, and Israel.
Seated at a desk wearing a khaki T-shirt, Zelenskiy told the French parliament that images of devastated Ukrainian cities such as Mariupol "recall the ruins of Verdun as in the photos of World War I that everyone has seen."
"The Russian Army makes no distinction between targets. They destroy residential areas, hospitals, schools, universities."
Automaker Renault, which is partly state-owned, suspended production at plants near Moscow last month but has since reportedly resumed production.
Major French retailers such as Auchan, Leroy Merlin, and sports group Decathlon have not followed a boycott of Russia by other top Western companies.
Zelenskiy is scheduled to address the Swedish parliament on March 24 and Danish lawmakers on March 25.
