Russia threatens to 'march on Paris' as all-out WW3 fears erupt

Russia has issued a sharp warning to France, escalating tensions between Moscow and Paris after French President Emmanuel Macron described Vladimir Putin as “a predator and an ogre at our doorstep.”

Macron made the remark during an interview with the French news channel LCI, directly criticizing the Russian leader’s aggression in Ukraine and beyond. The comments appeared to strike a nerve in the Kremlin, prompting Russian state propagandists to lash out at the French President.

On his popular television program, Vladimir Solovyov one of Putin’s most outspoken media allies responded with a fiery rant, even going so far as to suggest that Russian troops could someday “march on the Champs-Élysées” in Paris. He mocked Macron, claiming he would be “polishing the boots of a Russian officer,” while once again raising grievances over NATO’s eastward expansion.

This rhetoric has stirred fears of further escalation in the already fragile relationship between Russia and Western powers. Analysts point out that such statements are part of Moscow’s broader information warfare strategy using intimidation and aggressive propaganda to push back against NATO support for Ukraine.

Historically, the last time Russian troops entered Paris was in 1814, during the Napoleonic Wars. Ironically, a well-known French cultural term “bistro” is said to have originated then, when Russian soldiers demanded food “bystryy” (“quickly” in Russian) from Parisian waiters.

While most experts agree that Russia’s threats are symbolic rather than an immediate military plan, they highlight how strained relations between Moscow and Paris have become. Macron has positioned himself as one of the most vocal European critics of Putin, and the Kremlin’s reaction suggests that he is now viewed as a prime target in Russia’s information war.