French president signals new sanctions on Russia if it refuses ceasefire with Ukraine

The president of France signaled new sanctions Tuesday on Russia if it refuses to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine.

Emmanuel Macron confirmed during an interview with the TF1 broadcaster that Paris intends to impose new sanctions against Russia in the coming days if it does "not comply" with a ceasefire agreement.

Macron noted that France did not have the "legal framework" to seize Russian assets to fund Ukraine's defense.

"As I speak to you now, it is not a good solution to seize the frozen assets. At the time of resolving the conflict, I believe they should be used to help with reconstruction," he added.

Macron said Paris does not want to "trigger" a third world war but indicated that "Russia will not stop there if we let it carry on."

He reiterated the need to continue supporting Ukraine to strengthen its forces.

"The third thing is that we cannot abandon Ukraine, especially since it won't be joining NATO," Macron added.