Marine Le Pen, a leading candidate in the upcoming French presidential election, has indicated a shift in her stance on NATO, stating she will not withdraw France from the military alliance's integrated command as long as the war in Ukraine persists. However, she maintained her long-held ambition to pull Paris out of the command structure.
Speaking at the Playbook Paris Live summit on Thursday, Le Pen told POLITICO that while the war on "Europe's doorstep" makes it an inopportune time for such a move, her "will to do so remains." Polls suggest Le Pen is the front-runner to succeed Emmanuel Macron in the election next spring.
Both Le Pen and far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon have expressed desires to withdraw France from NATO's integrated command, a position that has raised concerns within the alliance. While the National Rally party has historically advocated for this withdrawal, Le Pen's latest comments suggest a more nuanced approach compared to her previous statements in May, when she indicated a withdrawal during her first term without explicitly linking it to the Ukraine war.
Le Pen also stated that France should avoid direct conflict with Russia, a nuclear power, and rejected the idea that it is currently in a conflict with Moscow, despite what she described as "hybrid attacks" against European nations. To counter accusations of being an ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Le Pen and Bardella recently issued a statement condemning Russia.
Furthermore, Le Pen reiterated her pledge to cease financial assistance to Ukraine if she wins the presidency, though she indicated that France could continue to provide military aid and training. She expressed openness to a potential peacekeeping force, similar to UN peacekeepers, if it were a condition for negotiating a ceasefire, and supported the Coalition of the Willing, a group led by France and the U.K., in providing a military presence in Ukraine post-war.
