Many French Lawmakers to Vote Against Anti-Russia Sanctions - Official

A large portion of France’s opposition lawmakers are poised to vote against extending economic sanctions on Russia in the national legislature Thursday, a member of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee told Sputnik on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The lower-house French National Assembly will vote in the first round of parliamentary debates on whether to drop anti-Russia sanctions, which were imposed in 2014 at the height of the Ukrainian crisis.

"A large share of opposition lawmakers will vote against extending anti-Russia sanctions," Thierry Mariani, of Nicolas Sarkozy's The Republicans, told Sputnik, adding "some Socialists will also vote against."

Francois Rochebloine, a member of the New Center party, told RIA Novosti last week that the vote was called at Mariani’s request on the grounds that sanctions were harmful for both countries.