Ve vill punish zat evil lout and dastardly criminal, ze Russian Putin said, in essence, Laurent Fabius, Foreign Minister of France. More precisely, he said that France would halt its 1.2 billion Euro contract to supply two Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia as one of the steps to be taken to show its anger regarding Russia's behavior in Crimea. There was but one caveat. Other western nations would have to take equivalent steps. In particular, the Minister called on the UK to take steps of equal magnitude regarding the assets of Russian oligarchs in London.
The stakes for western nations are quite high. Anything done against the assets of the Russians in London, would impact the London financial market quite severely. Nevertheless, the stakes are equally high for the French. The assault ships and helicopters represent 1,000 French jobs at a time when the French military budget is shrinking.
It's a very, very big deal and France is quite correct in demanding that its allies take like measures.
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