Uma análise de conteúdo dos discursos presidenciais franceses sobre a guerra na Ucrânia entre 2022 e 2025

Abstract

This study examines the changes in France's foreign policy toward Russia during the war in Ukraine, focusing on the speeches delivered by President Emmanuel Macron between 2022 and 2025. It aims to understand how Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine reshaped the discursive construction of Russia and influenced France's position regarding the conflict. To this end, the study adopts a qualitative approach based on content analysis of Macron's official speeches, using Laurence Bardin's methodological framework. The findings indicate a clear departure from the pre-war period, reflected in the portrayal of Russia as an aggressive, revisionist, and imperialist power responsible for violating international law, threatening state sovereignty, and undermining the stability of the international order. At the same time, political, financial, and military support for Ukraine is legitimized as a necessary condition for preserving European security and the rules-based international order. The analysis also demonstrates that the speeches reinforce France's leadership in promoting European strategic autonomy and strengthening the European Union's defense capabilities, consolidating a more assertive stance in response to the threat posed by Russia. The study concludes that the war prompted a significant reorientation of French foreign policy, marked by the abandonment of the strategy of engagement with Moscow in favor of an approach centered on containing Russia and strengthening France's leadership within the European context.