French presidential far-right candidate wants to withdraw Paris from NATO command

French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen pledged, if elected, to withdraw France from the integrated military command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and work on “strategic cooperation” between NATO and Russia.

RT reported, during a press conference on April 13, the far-right candidate of the National Front party – who had previously spoken in favor of leaving NATO – clarified her current position on France’s membership. in the union.

Saying she wanted to “clear all misunderstandings,” Le Pen explained that her intention was to return to French policy from 1966 to 2009, when France was not involved in NATO military affairs but remains part of the bloc’s political structure.

In the face of potential criticism of her statements, Ms Le Pen said such a stance on membership NATO of France will not mean “submissive to Russia” but will permit not to place French armed forces or weapons under any foreign command, whether NATO or another European entity in the future. .

“Therefore, I would propose not to leave NATO, but to leave NATO’s integrated military command, as was the case from 1966 to 2009,” she said.

In making this statement, the French presidential candidate emphasized that France under her leadership would remain committed to the interests of collective security and to abide by article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

Presidential candidate Le Pen also pledged to “speak out in support of the implementation of the strategic partnership between NATO and Russia“Once the military conflict in Ukraine is over and a peace agreement is signed.

France’s withdrawal from the military command will be a heavy blow to NATO as the country, which rejoined the bloc’s military structures in 2009, is the third-largest military force and budget. fourth largest defense in the alliance.

Meanwhile, Russia has always opposed the expansion and consolidation of NATO, and cited the alliance’s expansion to the east as one of the reasons for its military campaign in the region. Ukraine.

The first round of the French presidential election is a fierce competition between incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, with the percentage of votes won by 27.6% and 23.41% respectively. These two top candidates will advance to the second and final round of the competition French presidential election on April 24.

Polls show Mr Macron as more likely to win. According to a survey by France Info on April 13, Macron led Le Pen by 10 percentage points with 55% of voters intending to support the incumbent president.