France's Sport Minister said Thursday, May 31 that she and her cabinet colleagues will boycott Euro 2012 matches in Ukraine to protest the treatment of jailed opposition figure Yulia Tymoshenko.

France are scheduled to play their three group-stage matches in Ukraine, which is co-hosting the football championships with Poland but has faced growing calls for a boycott since jailing Tymoshenko in October on charges that European Union leaders have condemned as politically motivated.

Speaking before a friendly between France and Serbia in the northern French city of Reims, Sport and Youth Minister Valerie Fourneyron said "no member of government will be at the matches in Ukraine.

"The foreign ministry informed the Ukrainian and Polish governments of this situation yesterday (Wednesday)," she said.

She said France's stance was shared by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, EU president Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso, AFP reported.