Kristine Berzina Discusses French Companies Continuing Operations in Russia Despite Sanctions on France 24

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used an address to France’s parliament on Wednesday to call on French companies still working in Russia to “stop sponsoring” the Kremlin’s aggression against his country. Kristine Berzina, Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy, joins France 24 and questions why French companies might be putting profits over principle. “Is this a national position or is this a corporate position?” asks Ms. Berzina. Regardless, she highlights the fact that “across the sectors, the French companies have not been as quick to depart as others.” As Russia’s biggest foreign employer, France would be in a strong position to show their refusal to “stand by and accept [Russia’s] behavior.” She says that French companies pulling out of Russia “would have a significant effect on individuals, on the employees, on the economy in Russia […] If France stays, it helps prop up the Russian economy, it helps Russia continue through this.”