Marine Le Pen vows to curb France's support for Ukraine
The leader of the French far-right National Rally party, Marine Le Pen, gave an interview to CNN and announced her intention to change the government's handling of relations with war-torn Ukraine. Ukrainian media extensively cites and comments on Le Pen's statements.
8:52 AM EDT, July 6, 2024
According to Marine Le Pen, if the far-right takes power this Sunday after the French parliamentary elections, support for Ukraine will decrease. The politician promised, among other things, that a prime minister from her party would prevent Kyiv from using long-range French weapons to strike Russia.
Emmanuel Macron was one of the first leaders who publicly promised Ukraine that he would not oppose the use of French-delivered weapons to conduct attacks on Russian aggressors on their territory. This bold decision also convinced Washington to follow suit. It enabled Kyiv to carry out attacks on Russian border military bases, supporting the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Furthermore, Le Pen criticized President Emmanuel Macron's suggestion that French military trainers could join Ukrainian defenders. "If Emmanuel Macron wants to send troops to Ukraine and the prime minister is against it, then there are no troops sent to Ukraine. The prime minister has the final say," she said.
The extensive interview on CNN was published before the second round of early parliamentary elections, which—according to polls—will be her most significant political success. The far-right party leader used this conversation to reveal her plans for Ukraine and address French soccer star Kylian Mbappe, who appealed to the French to defend democracy. "Mbappé doesn't represent French people with an immigration background," said Le Pen.
Le Pen reveals what policy France will adopt under her party's rule. This is how she will treat Ukraine
The anticipated victory of Le Pen's party is causing concern in France and Kyiv. The far-right politician has never hidden her admiration for Putin. She refused to condemn Putin's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and even took out a massive loan from a Russian bank.
The declaration regarding the withdrawal of permission to use weapons to attack targets in Russia signals to Kyiv that European support for the country fighting Putin's aggression will be reduced. However, the newspaper "Ukrainska Pravda," which reported Le Pen's statements, reminds readers of the words of Jordan Bardella, the far-right candidate for French prime minister. He said that if his political forces come to power, they will not allow Russia to "absorb Ukraine."
