France’s far-right leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, who has expressed support for Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past, could take control of NATO’s third-largest army if she defeats incumbent candidate Emmanuel Macron.
Results of the first round of voting for the French presidential election were released on Sunday and showed that Macron received 27.8 percent of the vote, compared to 23.1 percent received by Le Pen.
Results released on Sunday suggest Macron and Le Pen will meet in the second round of the French presidential election, a repeat of the 2017 race when Macron defeated Le Pen. The second ballot is scheduled for April 24th.
Le Pen is known as the leader of France’s far-right Nationalist Party and has previously expressed her support for Putin. Before her defeat in the 2017 presidential election, Le Pen traveled to Russia to meet with Putin, and pictures captured the two shaking hands at the time. Reuters also reported that Le Pen has expressed an interest in removing France from NATO’s integrated command if she is elected president. According to the French Foreign Ministry, the nation is “the third largest contributor to NATO’s military and civilian budgets”.
Marine Le Pen is currently trailing French President Emmanuel Macron in the race for the French presidency. Above, Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen during a meeting with French presidential candidate from the far-right Front National (FN) party Marine Le Pen March 24, 2017 at Moscow’s Kremlin. MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP/Getty
According to Reuters, Le Pen received a loan from a Russian bank in 2014, but tried to distance himself from Putin after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Reuters also reported that she has since condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“I have repeatedly expressed my solidarity with the Ukrainian people and said that we should give Ukrainian refugees a decent welcome,” Le Pen said recently, according to Politico.
Despite her attempts to distance herself from Russia, many have still accused Le Pen of being an ally of Putin
Ahead of Monday’s second round of the presidential campaign, France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told RTL radio that Le Pen was an “ally of Vladimir Putin,” Bloomberg reported.
“Another battle begins with two visions of France,” Le Maire said, according to Bloomberg.
Macron has also criticized Le Pen’s past ties to Putin, telling reporters over the weekend: “You shouldn’t look at me if you want to find complacency about Vladimir Putin or Russian funding,” according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). .
“You should look at the other candidates. Don’t forget that,” Macron added.
Macron told supporters over the weekend: “I want a France in a strong Europe that maintains its alliances with the major democracies to defend itself, and not a France that would have the populists as its only allies outside of Europe and xenophobic internationals. That’s not us,” reported the New York Times.
While Macron defeated Le Pen by a wide margin in 2017, the latest poll released on Sunday showed this year’s race ended on a tighter note. According to a poll published by IPSOS France, Macron is expected to win the election by an eight-point margin (54 percent versus 46 percent).
Newsweek reached out to Le Pen’s campaign and Macron’s office for comment.