Macron said this to reporters on Friday after a European Union leaders’ meeting at Versailles Palace outside Paris.

“Europe and also Africa will be very deeply destabilised as regards food because of what can’t be planted right now in Ukraine,” Macron said.

“We will have to prepare for that and re-evaluate our production strategies to defend our food sovereignty, but also to be able to define a strategy concerning Africa,” he added.

Macron said that without strategies concerning Africa, several countries would be affected by famines within 12 to 18 months precisely because of the war. The French leader added more economic punishment would be piled on Russia if it continues invasion of its neighbour.

“If things continue in a military way, we will take further sanctions, including massive sanctions,” he said, trailing a G7 statement on potential further measures “in a few hours”.All options are on the table,” he added after EU nations have held off in the first weeks of the conflict from cutting off crucial oil and gas imports from major supplier Russia.

Macron, who in contrast to the U.S. and British leaders, has played down the likelihood that Russia may soon invade its neighbour, shuttled from Moscow to Kyiv on Tuesday in a bid to mediate a settlement and avoid war.

The French president had no breakthroughs to announce but Macron said he thought his talks had helped prevent the crisis from escalating further.

He said had never expected “for one second” that Putin would make concessions.

Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had told him they were committed to the principles of a 2014 peace agreement, he said, adding that this deal, known as the Minsk accords, offered a path to resolving their ongoing disputes. This shared determination is the only way allowing us to create peace, the only way to create a viable political solution,” Macron told a joint news conference with Zelenskiy. Calm… is essential from all parties in words and in deeds,” Macron said, praising Zelenskiy for the “sangfroid” he and the Ukrainian people were showing as Russia amasses more than 100,000 troops, tanks, and heavy weapons on Ukraine’s borders.

The White House disclosed this in a statement “The leaders discussed ongoing diplomatic and deterrence efforts in response to Russia’s continued military build-up on Ukraine’s borders. And (they) affirmed their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,”

A statement from the Élysée Palace said the two leaders talked for about 40 minutes.

Macron travels to Moscow on Monday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

They had already spoken by telephone three times in the past few days.

France currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU).

Before his visit to the Kremlin, Macron coordinated his stance with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is making his inaugural visit to Washington to see Biden on Monday.

The Ukraine conflict will also play an important role in the Biden-Scholz meeting.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Sunday about ongoing efforts by NATO allies, EU partners, G7 members, and other partners “to address Russia’s continued military build-up on Ukraine’s borders.

“And the importance of continuing to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the State Department said.

Damien Tarel was immediately arrested after the incident which occurred as the French leader was greeting a crowd in the region on Tuesday.

The court in the southeast city of Valence convicted Tarel on Thursday, June 10, on a charge of violence against a person invested with public authority. He was given four months in prison and an additional 14-month suspended sentence and was banned from ever holding public office and from owning weapons for five years.

Tarel described himself as a right-wing or extreme-right “patriot” and member of the gilets jaunes economic protest movement.

After the incident, Tarel acknowledged hitting the president with a “rather violent” slap. “When I saw his friendly, lying look, I felt disgusted, and I had a violent reaction,” he told the court. “It was an impulsive reaction … I was surprised myself by the violence.”

He said he and his friends had considered bringing an egg or a cream pie to throw at the president but had dropped the idea – and insisted that the slap wasn’t premeditated.

“I think that Emmanuel Macron represents the decline of our country,” he said, without explaining what he meant.

Macron wouldn’t comment Thursday on the trial, but insisted that “nothing justifies violence in a democratic society, never.”

“It’s not such a big deal to get a slap when you go toward a crowd to say hello to some people who were waiting for a long time,” he said in an interview with broadcaster BFM-TV. “We must not make that stupid and violent act more important than it is.”

At the same time, the president added, “We must not make it banal, because anyone with public authority is entitled to respect.”

Another man arrested in the ruckus that followed the slap, identified by the prosecutor as Arthur C, will be judged at a later date, in 2022, for illegal possession of weapons.

The prosecutor’s office said that as well as finding weapons, police who searched the home of Arthur C also found books on the art of war, a copy of Adolf Hitler’s manifesto Mein Kampf and two flags, one symbolising communists and another of the Russian Revolution.

France has 5,100 troops in the Sahel region and has helped in the war against Islamist militancy but Macron has warned of the risk of Mali “moving towards” greater Islamist influence if there is no democratic government in place.

For decades France has provided military support to its former colonies in Africa but has told regional leaders that France had no intention of keeping its troops in Africa forever.

Macron is also annoyed by a lack of commitment from other European countries to fight the multiple militant Islamist groups in the region as Europe could be affected by possible jihadist attacks on the continent and illegal migration.

Last week, France and the European Union denounced an “unacceptable coup d’etat” after Mali’s interim President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane were detained and stripped of their power. Coup leader Colonel Assimi Goïta was then named transitional president by the constitutional court on Friday.

Macron speaking to Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper said “Radical Islamism in Mali with our soldiers there? Never. There is this temptation today in Mali. But if it goes in that direction, I will withdraw”

President Emmanuel Macron of France, the former colonial power, will attend the ceremony along with a dozen other heads of state and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

The funeral, complete with military honours, is scheduled to take place in the morning in N’Djamena’s main square, La Place de la Nation.

The ceremony is to be followed by prayers at the capital’s Grand Mosque, after which Deby is to be laid to rest alongside his father in the village of Amdjarass next to his birthplace Berdoba, in the far east of the desert country near the border with Sudan.

He replaces Edouard Philippe, who resigned with his government after President Macron promised a reshuffle for the last two years of his term.

Mr Castex, a senior civil servant played a key role in the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He coordinated France’s reopening strategy after the lockdown.

The restrictions started on March 17 and would continue to be enforced strictly until May 11 according to the president.

Addressing the nation on Monday evening from the Elysée Palace in Paris, French President Macron apologized for not being prepared enough to tackle the virus but said that after May 11 the lockdown could slowly be relaxed if people adhere to the lockdown rules.

According to the president, from May 11, there will be the gradual reopening of schools, crèches, colleges and high schools but larger public events, stadiums, restaurants, cafes and bars aren’t expected to open “before mid-July”.

He said “The epidemic is starting to slow down. The results are there. Thanks to your efforts, everyday we have made progress. Over the next four weeks, the rules must be respected, there has been problems with everything from the supply of masks to protective gel, and that health workers “did not have enough protective equipment. Mistakes were made. Were we sufficiently prepared? Obviously not – no one is prepared for a crisis of this magnitude. We’ll end up winning but we’ll need to live with the virus for a few months.”

The President addressed the nation on Monday night after the number of coronavirus cases “doubled every three days” to more than 5,000 people. France has suffered 5,500 cases of coronavirus and 127 deaths, making it the seventh-worst affected country.

He said “Movements will be very strongly reduced for 15 days, never before in history has France had to take such exceptional measures in a time of peace. You will no longer be able to see your loved ones … or continue your daily routine.”