French presidential candidates clash over aid to Ukraine

French presidential candidates – far-right leader Marine Le Pen and former prime minister Édouard Philippe – have clashed over a pledge by Le Pen's National Rally to halt aid to Ukraine.

Source: Statements by the politicians on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: The dispute began with a comment by Louis Aliot, vice-president of the National Rally. Responding to a question from BFMTV about the possibility of "turning off the tap" on aid to Ukraine, the mayor of Perpignan confirmed that the far right planned to halt support if it came to power.

"The healthcare system, the education system, the entire economy – everyone is on the verge of exhaustion, yet they still find money to continue financing weapons (...) but who pays for all this?" the politician said.

Former prime minister and presidential candidate for the centre-right Horizons party Édouard Philippe, currently one of the strongest contenders to face the National Rally leader in the second round, criticised the far right for this position.

"'Turning off the tap' on Ukraine means serving Russia... Weakening Ukraine, as Marine Le Pen seeks to do, is a threat to the security of Europe and France. I will do everything I can to prevent this," Philippe stressed.

Le Pen sharply responded to her opponent, saying that his "international track record is just as pitiful as his results in the economic and budgetary spheres".

"Since the beginning of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, I have been calling on France to urgently convene a major peace conference to promote not the continuation of bloodshed, but a diplomatic settlement to this terrible war, which, I remind you, has already claimed the lives of two million people – something you failed either to stand up for or achieve," the far-right leader added.

She also recalled that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was received at the Palace of Versailles and later at the Fort de Brégançon when Édouard Philippe was prime minister during Emmanuel Macron's first five-year term.

In response, Philippe highlighted the National Rally leader's ties to Russia, calling her "the voice of weakness and criminal appeasement of the Kremlin".

"Since Russia invaded Ukraine, everything has become clear: there is a dictator-aggressor and a democracy that has been attacked. Putting them on the same level is not diplomacy; it is criminal weakness. You opposed arms supplies to Ukraine and sanctions against Moscow. Had you been elected, Ukraine would have been abandoned long ago. You can rewrite your speeches about Russia, but no one will be able to forget your ties to Russia," the politician stressed.

The French presidential election will be held in two rounds in late April and early May 2027. Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally, remains the frontrunner in opinion polls.

Background:

• In August, Gabriel Attal, former French prime minister and presidential candidate, filed a complaint regarding a suspected Russian disinformation campaign ahead of next year's presidential elections.
• French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot warned that Paris "will not tolerate any attempts at foreign interference".

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