French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Sunday that confiscating Russian central bank assets frozen in European clearing houses would violate international law and risk unleashing “total chaos.”

He made the remarks during an interview with CBS News, stressing that European countries must remain “predictable” and compliant with legal norms when handling sovereign assets. 

Macron said that even in the current geopolitical context, “you cannot seize these assets from the central bank,” adding that respecting international law is essential for credibility and stability. He further noted that confiscation is a step that could trigger widespread legal and financial repercussions across global markets.

The frozen assets, held primarily by Euroclear, a Belgium-based central securities depository, have accumulated profits as they mature. These profits are already being earmarked to repay a $50 billion loan the G7 raised for Ukraine’s reconstruction amid the ongoing conflict with Russia.

While the European Commission has resisted direct asset seizure, it is exploring riskier reinvestment strategies to boost returns. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed efforts are advancing to channel those returns toward Ukraine’s defense and rebuilding efforts.

The comments come as EU institutions and member states debate how to make frozen Russian assets available to support Ukraine.

Russian tit-for-tat

European Commission proposals have explored using a portion of the assets to back loans or special-purpose bonds for Ukraine rather than outright confiscation, an approach intended to avoid direct legal seizure while delivering funds.

Meanwhile, Moscow has warned that attempts to appropriate its frozen assets would be treated as theft and could prompt legal and non-legal reprisals.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova previously said that Russia possesses a "wide arsenal" of economic and political countermeasures if the West seizes its sovereign assets, including a tit-for-tat confiscation of Western assets in Russia. 

Zakharova highlighted that Russia has a substantial amount of Western assets, including funds and property, under its governance, warning that they could all be subject to seizure as part of the Russian response. 

"All of it may be subject to Russian retaliatory policy and retaliatory actions. The arsenal of political and economic countermeasures is wide," she said, without revealing the nature of the possible retaliatory actions.

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