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Marine Le Pen is saying out loud what the French and European political classes do not dare to say. In a long interview given to the Financial Times, the leader of the National Rally and front-runner in the poll for the 2027 French presidential election – credited with 32-34% in a September survey by the French opinion pollster OpinionWay for the media group CNEWS – set out her budget and her vision of Europe. Le Pen wants to stop writing checks to Ukraine and to fight against Islamist fundamentalism. She also wants to reverse the process of transfer of powers to Brussels that has been going on for decades.
On Ukraine, Le Pen said: "We have done everything we could for Ukraine up to now. There comes a point when we can do no more."
Ukraine will no longer receive financial aid from France after six months following the election of Marine Le Pen to the Elysée Palace, the leader of the National Rally party stated in an interview with the Belgian broadcaster VRT in Brussels. France is at the edge of defaulting on its public debt, she stated. She noted that France's share of the EU's 90 billion euros in loans to Ukraine is 18 billion euros, and that this sum is enormous. As for military aid to Ukraine, Le Pen stated that France will continue to provide it, possibly also in the form of arms.
She pointed out that France is at the edge of default on its public debt and that it is only fair to tell Zelensky the truth: Ukraine can look for financial aid with other EU countries that are in a better economic shape than France.
Le Pen was clear about where the money should go: "I would like to be able to help Ukraine financially. I have said that we would continue to provide military assistance, possibly equipment. But we can no longer afford not to reserve for our own people, and the difficulties they face, the money they have paid."
She also spoke about Islamist fundamentalism: "I consider the veil to be part of this totalitarian ideology. You only have to look at Muslim countries where Islamist fundamentalists come to power. The first thing they do is impose the veil. I will begin by banning it in universities, sports federations and public buildings. And gradually, I hope to convince Muslim women that they will be much freer. Those who follow Islamist fundamentalism and seek to impose Sharia in France will find me standing in their way. Muslims themselves have absolutely no reason to worry. They will be able to continue practicing their religion and holding their beliefs without any difficulty."
On the European Union, Le Pen did not hold back: "The European Union is giving itself powers that nobody delegated to it. They want to create a European intelligence service. They are involved in diplomacy. They are involved in development aid. Now they want to have an army. So we are going to push them back toward their proper responsibilities."
She also spoke of her expectations for a conflict with the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen, who she said no longer has the confidence of many governments. The National Rally leader explained that she would be looking for a “trial of strength” with the Commission and other EU member states, over her plan to slash France’s net contribution to the EU’s budget. The hand that gives is always above the hand that receives, Le Pen said. France would remain in the EU, she said, and she is convinced she can bring the Commission to reason with the help of a series of other governments.
Le Pen therefore said that the fact that the European Commission wanted to close the deal on the multi-annual financial framework before the end of the year, while four of the five largest countries in the European Union (Spain, France, Italy, Poland) would hold national elections in the coming months, was proof of the contempt in which democratic processes were held. Her answer: “Four of the five largest countries in the European Union will have elections in 2027: Spain, France, Poland and Italy. These four major countries could overturn the direction the European Union has taken for years, which we fundamentally oppose.”
Le Pen also said that she can understand the ire of Americans – and of President Donald Trump in particular – towards the EU which, while lecturing the US to impose energy sanctions on Russia, continues to import gas from the country.
The polls currently predict that Marine Le Pen is leading the presidential election, enjoying the support of 32-34% of respondents, according to the September survey conducted by the agency OpinionWay on behalf of CNEWS. The budget of National Rally leader, unveiled on 6 October, could reach the level of 140 billion of net savings over five years. “The French want to close a parenthesis of forty years during which were applied the same policies, denied the same wishes of the French and silenced the same aspirations,” she told the Financial Times.
