Why France’s political turmoil is a victory for Putin

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Le Pen with Jordan Bardella, who looks set to be France’s next prime minister (AFP/Getty)

According to the French investigative outlet Mediapart, former National Front (as the National Rally was then called) MEP Jean-Luc Schaffhauser allegedly received payments from Russia in return for promoting pro-Russian positions in the European Parliament.

The Russian loan was repaid early in 2023, and in an effort to cleanse its image, the party claims to have cut all ties to Russia. Nevertheless, a number of candidates on the ballot sheet for Sunday are reputed to have close links to the Kremlin and at least two have them have been election observers in Russia in 2018 and during the 2020 referendum.

Earlier this week, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted its support for RN, writing on X/Twitter: “The people of France are seeking a sovereign foreign policy that serves their national interests and a break from the dictate of Washington and Brussels,” alongside a picture of Le Pen.

During the 2022 presidential elections, Le Pen, who faced Macron in the second round, promised to take France out of Nato’s integrated command and to build constructive relations with Russia. Both these suggestions have since been dropped.

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A protester holds a picture of Le Pen’s 2017 meeting with Vladimir Putin (AFP/Getty)

But despite the recent about-turn by the RN on aid to Ukraine, it remains difficult to imagine how a party with such long-standing ties to the Kremlin could shed them all overnight. Fears will be heightened if civil servants close to the far right take up positions in key areas of national security and defence in France, EU institutions and Nato.

This is already visible in the new European Parliament, where General Christophe Gomart, former head of France’s military intelligence, was elected for the Republican party, formed by Nicolas Sarkozy.

Gomart, whose ambiguous views on Russia and Ukraine had already earned him the distrust of pro-Ukrainians, has decided to join renegade Eric Ciotti, a former Republican politician who has defected to RN. Gomart has now been nominated to the European Parliament’s defence committee.

“Don’t let the wolf into the manger,” warns Denis Kataev, a Russian exiled journalist who compares the National Rally to Putin’s image as a committed liberal democrat when he was elected in 2000.

As France goes to the polls this Sunday, it remains to be seen how seriously this warning will be heeded. Even in the best-case scenario, France’s aid to Ukraine will likely suffer, and it is hard to see how either outcome is anything but a victory for Moscow.

Samantha de Bendern is a political commentator and associate fellow on the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House

Source link : https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/france-election-marine-le-pen-putin-b2574047.html

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Publish date : 2024-07-06 05:00:00

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