Emmanuel Macron puts on 'arms show' as EU prepares to boost munitions to Ukraine

Pictures of French President Emmanuel Macron putting on an apparent 'arms show' have been released, as the European Union (EU) prepares to bolster its own munitions productions for Ukraine.

The black and white stills, shared by the official photographer of the French Republic, show a muscly President Macron with gritted teeth in a tight, black top punching a boxing bag.

While not directly mentioning Russia nor Ukraine in the Instagram post they were shared in, President Macron has used such images previously to nod to his public messaging campaign.

In late-2022, he posed in a turtleneck around the time the government asked people to heat their homes only once the temperature dropped below a certain level.

Earlier that year, following the initial invasion of Ukraine, he sported a black, Zelenskyy-style hoodie.

The latest set of images comes as EU leaders are poised to underscore their support for Ukraine, on Thursday, with the aim being to help boost arms production and to prove to Russia that they are in it for the long-haul.

President Macron, specifically, has refused to rule out that Western troops might be sent to Ukraine, despite conceding there is no consensus to do so at present.

His stance has riled some allies and been rejected, notably by Germany. Others, meanwhile, welcomed the "strategic ambiguity" of his remarks - the importance of never announcing your intentions to an adversary.

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