Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally, is seeking to become France’s next president by leaning on an anti-EU hard line, pledging to cut the country’s contributions to the EU budget and end funding to Ukraine.
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Concerning Ukraine, Le Pen has repeatedly pledged to end its financial aid. Speaking to reporters in Brussels on Wednesday, she said that if elected, France would only be able to maintain funding for six months due to the “perilous” state of its public finances.
“This funding will stop, and it is a matter of honesty to tell the truth (to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy),” she told Euronews.
Zelensky hit back in an interview with Financial Times THURSDAY. “The price to pay is not as high as the value of people’s lives,” he said. “This is why I think that Ms. Le Pen does not know certain details perfectly.”
He added that if Le Pen was elected president, she should have access to the “most powerful European system that works”, stressing that Ukraine’s experience on the battlefield could benefit European countries.
Le Pen also called for an end to European sanctions against Russia, while saying France could continue training Ukrainian troops and supplying military equipment to kyiv.
Her comments indicate that Le Pen is ready to take a tough stance, pledging to end French funding for Ukraine, in a position similar to that of US President Donald Trump.
Her position also stands in stark contrast to that of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is often compared to Le Pen but advocates continued support for kyiv.
Speaking before the Italian Senate on Wednesday ahead of the EU summit in Brussels, Meloni forcefully defended Ukraine’s right to self-defense.
“Supporting Ukraine is not an alternative to peace, it is what makes it possible,” Meloni said. “The peace we want is lasting, just and also protects Europe and our interests.
“Therefore, the position of this government will not change: support for Ukraine, pressure on Russia and Euro-Atlantic unity.”
“France’s support for Ukraine goes well beyond aid”
“France’s support for Ukraine goes well beyond just aid. It is above all diplomatic,” Elie Tenenbaum, director of the Center for Security Studies at the French Institute of International Relations, told Euronews.
He highlighted France’s leading role in initiatives such as the Coalition of the Willing, launched alongside the United Kingdom, as well as other mechanisms that “help keep Ukraine afloat.”
These include the Ukraine Support Loan (USL) of 90 billion euros, the implementation and disbursement of which depends on the political support of major countries, including France.
Tenenbaum stressed that funding cuts at the European level would have a greater impact on Ukraine than a reduction in bilateral aid from France.
“If France stopped not only providing bilateral aid and contributing to the EU budget, but also actively opposing these types of mechanisms, then the entire framework of European aid to Ukraine would be put at risk. »
According to figures from the German think tank Kiel Institute, France has committed around 27 billion euros to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. This includes 7.9 billion euros in bilateral aid and 19 billion euros through European mechanisms.
Germany remains Europe’s largest provider of aid to Ukraine in absolute terms, having pledged more than €50 billion since February 2022, well ahead of France, Italy and the Netherlands. However, relative to GDP, Denmark and Estonia provide the highest levels of bilateral aid.
Reduce France’s contribution to the EU budget
Six months before the French presidential election, Le Pen is campaigning on a platform centered on tougher immigration controls, greater national sovereignty and measures to tackle the cost of living crisis, as rising fuel prices fuel public discontent.
His party supported capping France’s net contribution to the EU budget at 5 billion euros a year, up from 8 billion euros, according to figures released by the French Senate. Such a decision would mark a break from recent years, during which French contributions have generally increased, despite annual fluctuations.
Under Emmanuel Macron’s presidency, France has supported a larger EU budget, unlike countries like Germany, which favor stricter spending limits. Paris also called for new EU own resources, that is, additional sources of income beyond the contributions of member states.
Although France is a net contributor to the EU budget, it also receives substantial funding for its farmers through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
“France stands out among the main contributors because it is the only one to have so far supported an ambitious European budget,” Eulalia Rubio, senior researcher at the Jacques Delors Institute, told Euronews.
She said Le Pen’s proposals reflected a “lack of understanding” of European institutions.
“Spending varies slightly each year, so we cannot say: ‘We are now only going to pay 5 billion euros per year’,” she commented.
Rubio warned that if France overcomes legal obstacles to reducing its contributions, other member states would have to make up the deficit. Such a prospect could prove particularly controversial given that France is the largest recipient of agricultural subsidies.
The French National Assembly on Wednesday rejected the National Rally’s proposal to unilaterally reduce the country’s contributions to the EU budget for 2027, instead supporting the government’s planned level of funding.
Thierry Chopin, assistant professor of European studies at Sorbonne University, said a National Rally victory could mark a break with France’s traditional role as a driving force within the EU and with the “intellectual contributions championed by Paris” in recent years, which have gained ground in response to world events.
Chopin highlighted France’s role in promoting European sovereignty, strategic defense autonomy and trade protection measures. However, he said France’s influence had declined during Macron’s second term, as its economic credibility declined.
“This credibility was not particularly strong at the start, but it has deteriorated given the country’s budgetary situation, the public debt and the difficulties of its public finances. And then, again, there are political considerations, because the executive has been weakened,” he said.
EU budget for 2028-2034
Addressing the Financial Times On Wednesday, Le Pen called efforts to reach an agreement on the 2028-2034 EU budget by the end of 2026 “undemocratic”.
She accused the European Commission of undermining “democratic processes” by bringing forward the budget before elections in France, Spain, Italy and Poland.
Before the vote, Macron took steps to secure key positions, including at the central bank, by appointing allies. The French president told EU leaders in a closed-door meeting on Thursday that Paris favored a deal this year.
Beyond the calendar, Le Pen also focuses on the content of the European budget. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, she said she hoped to “build new coalitions” with like-minded parties to challenge what she described as an anti-growth mentality in Brussels.
She also suggested that the European Central Bank (ECB), led by Christine Lagarde, revise its mandate to give more weight to economic growth. The ECB is independent and its main mandate is to maintain price stability.
Experts told Euronews they were skeptical that member states would support another major overhaul of EU budgetary rules after the radical reform of the Stability and Growth Pact in 2024.
“In my opinion, member states show little appetite for another major reform,” Andreas Eisl, senior researcher in European economic policy at the Jacques Delors Institute, told Euronews.
He added that “future changes are likely to involve a reinterpretation of existing rules rather than a fundamental overhaul of their legal foundations.”
Le Pen has repeatedly criticized European regulations and standards, calling them “regulatory hell” or a “regulatory slum”, and has pledged to reduce them to the bare minimum. Such an approach could undermine the bloc’s legal framework if adopted in all member states.
“Clearly, if every member state does this, the EU will no longer be able to function as a union based on the rule of law,” Chopin said.
The leader of the National Rally also pledged to “stop” the European Green Deal, the EU’s flagship program aimed at reducing emissions and achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
Le Pen says the Green Deal undermines economic growth. She also proposed abolishing institutions such as the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), an advisory body representing local and regional authorities involved in implementing EU policies, including climate measures.
“The dismantling of the European Green Deal is already underway. If Marine Le Pen were elected, this would only get worse, according to some analyses,” Phuc-Vinh Nguyen, head of the Energy Center at the Jacques Delors Institute, told Euronews.
Maria Tadeo contributed to this report
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