Macron invites Coalition of the Willing to Bastille Day, plans talks with Zelenskyy

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Friday that the next meeting of the Coalition of the Willing will take place in Paris on 13-14 July, coinciding with France's Bastille Day celebrations, and that he will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in early June.

Speaking on the margins of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Montenegro, Macron said he has invited all coalition members to attend France's national holiday on 14 July, including the Bastille Day military parade. This year's parade will be Macron's last before he leaves office.

"We will meet President Zelenskyy in a few days to organise support within the Coalition of the Willing and structure it," Macron told reporters.

The Coalition of the Willing has been under French command since November 2025 and is due to move to British leadership in July. The format brings together around 25 to over 30 countries that have pledged to deploy a multinational force in Ukraine after a peace deal with Russia is reached.

On 24 February, more than 30 countries in the coalition confirmed their role in providing multi-layered security guarantees for Ukraine with US support. On 6 January, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Macron, and Zelenskyy signed a declaration of intent on deploying troops in Ukraine if a peace agreement is concluded.

Macron spoke after Zelenskyy wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin calling for peace talks, the first such letter since the 2022 full-scale invasion. Macron called the letter a "good initiative."

"Today it's Ukraine and Russia that can build a ceasefire and a peace plan," Macron said. "Europeans can help because we are the main contributors to the war effort."

Macron said Europeans should be "at the table" for negotiations due to the security implications of a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.