"They [the Yellow Vests] are against [arms supplies to Ukraine], because it comes at a price. The budget of the French armed forces will be raised to 400 billion euros [$436 billion], and that is a significant increase," Valette, who is often referred to as the coordinator of Yellow Vest protests in Paris, said.
The movement unites economically vulnerable groups of French society, who have trouble understanding why their government is increasing defense spending in order to support the military industry of another country, he said.
While solidarity with Ukrainians, especially with women and children, was high in France in the initial phase of hostilities in early 2022, today French people are growing increasingly puzzled by their government's continuing to shower hundreds of millions of euros on Kiev regime while the economy in their own country is crumbling, Valette said.
"The growing misunderstanding is prompting the rise of populist opinions [in France]," he said.
Valette added that "the support of Ukraine are causing more and more disapproval."
Neither did the French people choose to sanction Russia at the cost of soaring prices and inflation at home, Valette said, going on to argue that imposing sanctions against Moscow was not a fully sovereign decision of the French government, with French President Emmanuel Macron having made that step at the instructions of Brussels.
Among the consequences of Russia sanctions in France, the Yellow Vests leader listed energy insecurity, price hikes and logistical disruptions.
The European Union has imposed 10 packages of sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis to date. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the policy of deterring and weakening Russia is the West's long-term strategy, and sanctions have inflicted serious damage to the global economy.