"This is illegal and foolish, since Russia has more Western assets than Russian assets [located] here [in Europe], including many French assets. If they do this, I think Russia will do the same. It will be a war," Philippot said.
He noted that this could be used to provoke Russia into retaliatory measures, and then blame it.
"Obviously, this is stupidity, but this is what everyone is waiting for. The West is waiting for Russia to do the same thing in order to say: ‘Look how evil the Russians are,’ and this will be another reason to attack them and impose sanctions," the politician added.
Russia has repeatedly slammed the move, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that Moscow "considers all cases related to blocking, arrest or other retention of any funds related to state property and private property, or mixed types of property of the Russian Federation abroad, to be illegal acts."
He was echoed by Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who denounced the EU plans as an "escalation of economic aggression," warning that Moscow would respond in a harsh manner.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his part, dubbed the West’s threats "unseemly business," and warned that "stealing other people’s assets has never brought anyone good."