Member of the French Parliament and representative of the governing team, Benjamin Hadad, noted in an interview with Globalnews.ge that the first visit of the newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of France to Ukraine is a clear message that Paris strongly supports Kyiv.

When asked how ready France, which often plays a decisive role in European political processes, is to strengthen the positions of the West in countries that Russia still perceives as its spheres of influence, the French lawmaker replied that the foreign course chosen by the European Union "will continue firmly" in the future. 

"The visit of the newly appointed French Foreign Minister to Kyiv was another strong message of clear solidarity and support for the Ukrainian people. We will maintain this commitment in the long term, which includes both military and financial assistance, as well as strong political support. Most importantly, not only France, but all EU states have such a clear message today. The focus shifted to Europe, and all ambiguous statements about possible cooperation with Russia were dispersed. This is primarily the result of the incredible sacrifice and struggle of the Ukrainian people. President Macron worked hard to officially open negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on joining the European Union, and also to grant Georgia candidate status. Among them, in terms of negotiations with Prime Minister Orban. Of course, this is a part of the strengthening of Europe and it will continue firmly in the future," - said the French politician.

According to him, an important factor in the path of European integration of Georgia will be "the provision of elections in a fair environment". 

"First of all, I am glad that we gave Georgia the status of a candidate. The Georgian people are a European nation, and I know in detail how they fought for the European future. Every time I visit Georgia, I clearly see how much the society is involved in the process of integration with the European Union. I think there is still a long way to go, and I want to be honest about that. First of all, it is very important to be able to hold fair elections, to see that civil society is free in its actions and not restricted, to create an independent media environment, and judicial system. It is also important that Georgia strongly resists corruption. In all these directions, Georgia was a kind of model and example; we saw progress in many areas, but in the last few years, we have been noticing changes. One of the main tests will be the holding of free and fair elections. We will monitor this process seriously", - He said. 

The member of the French Parliament and representative of the governing team added in an interview with Globalnews.ge, "I believe that ensuring the holding of elections in a fair environment will determine the future of Georgia's European path".