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French Political Party Calls for Referendum on Sanctions Against Russia

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France’s Popular Republican Union political party argues that sanctions against Russia hurt the French economy and has called upon French President Francois Hollande to carry out a referendum on the European Union’s sanctions policy against Moscow, the party’s official website reported.

MOSCOW, August 4 (RIA Novosti) – France’s Popular Republican Union political party argues that sanctions against Russia hurt the French economy and has called upon French President Francois Hollande to carry out a referendum on the European Union’s sanctions policy against Moscow, the party’s official website reported.

“Francois Hollande cannot pull France into a confrontation with Russia without asking citizens whether they are in favor of such policies,” the statement on the party’s website said.

According to the Popular Republican Union, France is conducting destructive polices that will hurt the country’s economy and may even lead to an armed conflict.

The statement also notes that turnover between Russia and the European Union is 10 times higher than US-Russian trade. If the European Union continues to implement new sanctions against Russia as dictated by the United States, the EU economy would suffer more.

According to the Popular Republican Union, the United States has no proof of Russia’s involvement in the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 crash in eastern Ukraine. The statement stresses that every day more evidence is found that proves the Ukrainian Army was responsible for the crash that killed all 298 people on board.

The EU commission expects the bloc to lose 40 billion euros this year and 50 billion in 2015 as a consequence of the sanctions imposed against Russia.

In July, the European Union and the United States announced new economic sanctions against Russia amid the Ukrainian crisis.

The 28 member-bloc imposed a third round of penalties that limited Russian state-owned financial institutions' access to EU capital markets, imposed an embargo on trade in arms, established an export ban for dual-use goods for military end users, and curtailed Russian access to sensitive technologies, particularly in the oil sector.

The first round of sanctions against Russia was implemented by the United States and the European Union back in March as a response to Crimea’s reunification with Russia following a referendum.

Russia has repeatedly called the language of sanctions counterproductive, warning that the measures would have a boomerang effect on Western economies.

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