Marine Le Pen still intends to withdraw France from NATO’s integrated military command structure, but says she will not take this step as long as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues. The leader of the National Rally, a favorite in the polls for next year’s presidential elections, told POLITICO that, “as long as there is a war at the gates of Europe”, it is not the time for such a decision.
“As long as we have a war at the gates of Europe, it is not the time to act in this direction, but, of course, my intention remains the same“, declared the leader of the National Rally on Thursday.
According to polls, Le Pen is the favorite in the high-stakes presidential elections next spring, following which Emmanuel Macron’s successor will be designated. Both she and the far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon want Paris to withdraw from NATO’s military structure, a prospect that causes concern at NATO headquarters about France’s future defense policy.
The National Rally has long supported France’s withdrawal from NATO’s integrated command structure, but Le Pen’s statements indicate a slight shift in position. In May, she claimed that France would withdraw during her first term, without conditioning this decision on the war in Ukraine, while the party’s president, Jordan Bardella, argued that such a measure should be postponed until a peace agreement is reached between Kiev and Moscow.
Le Pen and Bardella are campaigning in tandem, in a formula where the 31-year-old politician is set to become the prime minister.
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