These two politicians from the “National Rally” (RN) party – previously considered pro-Moscow – condemned Russia’s hostile actions against France.
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Voter polls show that M. Le Pen is leading in the first round of the French presidential election, which will take place next April, although the appellate court upheld her corruption conviction. It is expected that J. Bardella will become her prime minister if she wins.
Their joint statement, distancing themselves from Moscow, was published after the Kremlin ordered the seizure of several large French companies’ Russian branches this week, as well as the Swiss food giant Nestle’s division.
Moscow said this move was a blow to “unfriendly countries” supporting Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who will not participate in next year’s election after reaching the two-term limit, held a meeting of French political leaders on Friday to discuss the growing threat from Moscow. M. Le Pen did not attend the meeting.
M. Le Pen’s opponents in the presidential election accuse her of close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Previously, her party had signed a €9.4 million loan agreement with a Moscow bank, which was repaid in 2023.
Although M. Le Pen visited Moscow in 2017 and met with V. Putin, she later condemned the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022.
In a joint statement with J. Bardella published on Saturday, she said that Russia “cannot expect to directly or indirectly dictate” French policy through “intimidation, threats, destabilization, or psychological pressure.”
They added: “No provocation, no covert operation, and no destabilization actions will force France to ease Russia’s ability to achieve its war goals in Ukraine.”
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