France intends to create a "trade axis" from Europe to Beijing via Moscow, which will have to compensate for the "growing uncertainty" in relations with the US. This in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, said the Minister of Economy and Finances of the country, Bruno Le Mare. "We are moving from a world dominated exclusively by transatlantic relations to a more balanced one," said Le Mare.

The French minister criticizes Washington for imposing sanctions that prohibit US-based foreign companies from cooperating with Russia. According to LeMaire, this turns the US into a gendarme of world trade and contradicts the European vision of multilateral trade relations.

Le Mair expressed his hope that the state of affairs with anti-Russian sanctions would eventually change, and called on Moscow and Paris to support and enhance economic cooperation in the current conditions.