The current French presidential candidate from the “National Rally” Marine Le Pen shared her vision of an ideal foreign policy for her country. In her opinion, the Fifth Republic needs to maintain an equal distance in relations with major world powers, ensure a balance of power in international relations and act as an arbiter. Marine Le Pen stated this in an interview with the French edition of Le Journal du Dimanche.
“I am of the Gaullist position that France should maintain an equidistant position in relation to world powers,” she told reporters. According to the presidential candidate, the tragic consequences of the conflict in Ukraine are caused by “subordination to the absurd energy policy” of the EU.
Speaking of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Marine Le Pen said that he “restored Russian power.” She turned to the history of Franco-Russian relations under Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy. In particular, Le Pen recalled that the President of the Russian Federation received the Order of the Legion of Honor from Chirac.
Vladimir Putin did indeed receive the Grand Star of the Legion of Honor from Jacques Chirac, then president of the Fifth Republic, in 2006. The order itself was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 – to reward military and civilians for outstanding services to the French nation in peacetime and wartime. The first knight of this order was Napoleon himself.
Two rounds of presidential elections in France are scheduled for April 10 and 24. There are currently 12 candidates in the campaign, including incumbent French President Emmanuel Macron. The main competitor to him, according to public opinion polls, can be just the candidate from the “National Association” Marine Le Pen.
Earlier it became known that 8 out of 12 French presidential candidates are in favor of their country’s withdrawal from NATO and blame the North Atlantic Alliance for the aggravation of the situation in Ukraine. In particular, Marine Le Pen said that as soon as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is over, if she is elected president of France, “it will have to be done (withdraw from NATO).” True, the candidate from the National Front made a reservation that while a Russian special operation is underway in Ukraine, France’s withdrawal from NATO “is out of the question.”
The day before, the current President of the Fifth Republic, Emmanuel Macron, said that France, Turkey and Greece want to carry out a humanitarian operation to evacuate people from Mariupol. According to him, the mission can take place within a few days. Macron also added that he had already talked with the mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boychenko, who had previously left the war zone, and representatives of the Ukrainian authorities. It remains to coordinate the details with Russian President Vladimir Putin.