Appearing on the TF1 channel, Macron stressed that France stood by Ukraine amid a new push to force Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, but added that the West did not want a "Third World War".
"Our intention is to impose sanctions" if Russia fails to comply with a ceasefire in Ukraine proposed by Kyiv's European allies, Macron said.
In recent months France has taken a leading role seeking a coordinated European response to defending Ukraine, with Macron using his cordial relationship with US President Donald Trump in talks over ending the three-year war.
On Saturday, the leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Poland called on Russia to accept a 30-day unconditional ceasefire starting Monday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Putin to personally attend Russia-Ukraine talks in Turkey on Thursday, but Moscow has so far not said who will go.
The European Union has already imposed 16 rounds of sanctions on Russia since Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
A 17th round is to be adopted next Tuesday. The financial sector and hydrocarbons have been largely spared by the sanctions.
Macron also stressed that "no legal framework" existed to seize frozen Russian assets, and it was "not a good solution".
The French president said that Ukraine acknowledged it could not retake all the territory seized by Russia since 2014.
"We must help Ukraine defend itself but we do not want to unleash a Third World War," Macron said. "The war must cease and Ukraine must be in the best possible situation to go into negotiations," he added.
"Even the Ukrainians have the clear-sightedness to say they do not have the capacity to retake everything that has been taken since 2014," he added.
Ahead of the 2022 full-scale invasion, Russia in 2014 annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and backed forces which seized parts of two eastern Ukrainian regions.
- 'Ready to open discussion' -
Macron also said that France was ready to start discussing with other European countries on deploying French warplanes armed with nuclear weapons on their territory, as the United States does in certain nations.
"The Americans have the bombs on planes in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Turkey," Macron said.
"We are ready to open this discussion. I will define the framework in a very specific way in the weeks and months to come."
Macron also listed three conditions for such a move, namely that "France will not pay for the security of others" and it "will not come at the expense of what we need."
"The final decision will always rest with the president of the republic, as the head of the armed forces," he added.
The United States is believed to have around 50 nuclear bombs stored at the Incirlik air base in the south of NATO member Turkey.
France is the EU's only nuclear armed nation and discussion is growing after the Russian invasion of Ukraine over extending the French nuclear deterrent to its partners.
Poland, like France a key ally of Ukraine and an increasingly significant force in the EU, has already made clear it would be eager to benefit from France's nuclear deterrent.
Macron added: "There has always been a European dimension in the consideration of what we call vital interests. We do not elaborate on this because ambiguity goes hand in hand with the deterrent."
Brazil's Lula says to push Putin to negotiate with Zelensky in Istanbul
Beijing (AFP) May 14, 2025 -
Brazil's president said Wednesday he will press Vladimir Putin in person to attend negotiations with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey, adding to calls on the Russian leader to enter talks and end Moscow's invasion.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will stop over in the Russian capital on the way back to Brazil following the conclusion of a regional forum in China.
"I'll try to talk to Putin," Lula said at a press conference in Beijing ahead of his departure.
"It costs me nothing to say, 'hey, comrade Putin, go to Istanbul and negotiate, dammit'", he said.
The negotiations scheduled for Thursday in Istanbul would be the first direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow since 2022, shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour.
Lula's comments come after the Ukrainian foreign minister on Tuesday urged Brazil to use its influence with Russia and make a meeting between Putin and Zelensky happen.
They also come after Brazil and China issued a joint statement Tuesday calling for direct negotiations as the "only way to end the conflict".
Zelensky on Tuesday urged US President Donald Trump -- currently on a tour of Middle Eastern countries -- to also visit Turkey and participate in talks.
The Kremlin has not yet specified whether Putin will attend in person, stating only that the "Russian delegation will be present".
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