“This is in the interest of France and Europe, but I also believe that the United States has no interest in seeing a Sino-Russian treaty emerge,” said the French presidential candidate, who today presented her vision for the country’s foreign policy.
Le Pen indicated that he did not want to “subjugate either to Moscow or to the United States.”
In the 2017 campaign, the leader of the National Rally (RN) was welcomed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and her opponents often accused her of being close to the Russian government. Wednesday’s press conference was boycotted by a left-wing group that denounced it for its “complacency” toward Putin.
The candidate claims that the accusations against her are “particularly unfair”. “I am completely independent of any relationship, any authority, any government of any nationality,” he declared.
Marine Le Pen condemned the Russian invasion and supported France’s welcome of refugees from Ukraine. But she refuses, however, to impose economic sanctions on Moscow in order to “not harm” the purchasing power of the French.
Also today, the candidate denied the accusation made by President Emmanuel Macron that Le Pen wants to take France out of the European Union. “Obviously we are Europeans,” he emphasized, noting that “Brexit” is not on his agenda.
The candidate said, however, that she was in favor of turning the European Union into a “coalition of European states (…) that respect free and sovereign states”, not “a Europe that threatens and blackmails”.
On April 24, Le Pen will face Macron, in the second round of the French presidential election. According to three opinion polls published on Wednesday, Macron is extending his lead over Le Pen and is currently showing between 53% and 55% of voting intentions, compared to between 45% and 47% for his far-right opponent.
The two candidates have intensified their campaign activities since Monday, and on the 20th they will face each other in a televised debate.
Both are trying, above all, to win over the voters of the leader of the radical left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who received 22% of the vote in the first round, which was held last Sunday.
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