For some reason, this headline is so funny.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Such grumbling is percolating across Europe as new data reveals France quietly ramping up gas payments to Russia just as President Emmanuel Macron loudly positions himself as one of Ukraine’s staunchest defenders.

Paris’ growing gas trade with Russia comes as Macron has sought to take a harder line in support of Kyiv two years after Moscow first launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Last month, the French leader refused to rule out sending troops to Ukraine and urged allies not to be “cowards” in defending Kyiv, marking a sharp turn from his previous calls not to “humiliate” Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Instead, argued Phuc-Vinh Nguyen, an energy analyst at the Paris-based Jacques Delors Institute, the French government simply has “no interest in being vocal about that” since it “contradicts” Macron’s renewed push to help Ukraine.

A French Economy Ministry spokesperson told POLITICO the Russian gas increase was partly due to strikes that “strongly disrupted” normal flows last year.

Paris also “regularly discusses” efforts to reduce Russian fossil fuel imports with its EU allies, the spokesperson added, arguing a “high level” of gas travels through France and helps supply other countries like Italy.

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