Macron fears approach would breach principle of immunity of sovereign assets and undermine efforts to strengthen European defence

Tensions have surfaced between France and the UK over whether $350bn of frozen Russian assets can be seized and then offered to the US to buy US defence equipment, so binding America closer to the defence of Europe.

The UK’s willingness to seize the assets is longstanding, but its position has become more pronounced in recent weeks, with a high-level endorsement by the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy. The proposal has also had the support of Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.