The French far-right National Alliance (RN) party is poised to win next year’s presidential election, but the party’s attitude towards the Kremlin remains ambivalent, writes Politico.
The RN was once among the most pro-Russian political forces in France, but after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the party had to rethink its position. In a change of tone, RN leaders have repeatedly criticized Russian dictator Vladimir Putin for starting the war.
However, the problem cannot be said to have been eliminated. The party’s more traditional representatives still echo the Kremlin’s rhetoric and are trying to influence future French foreign policy, fighting against the party’s younger generation, which is more inclined to support Ukraine. This ideological battle may have a significant impact not only on France, but will also have an impact on the security landscape in Europe as a whole. France is a core NATO power that has been leading the push for security guarantees for Ukraine. A Russia-friendly administration after the 2027 elections could disrupt NATO’s usual order.
POLITICO spoke to some RN members close to the party’s leadership, who represent a range of positions on the Kremlin. Their accounts revealed that the wing of the party, which is currently centered around the most likely presidential candidate, Jordan Bardella, sees Russia as a threat to both France and Europe as a whole. Meanwhile, the more traditionalist wing of the party supports Moscow’s position that the war in Ukraine was caused by NATO’s eastward expansion.
An official directly involved in shaping French military policy described the party as divided into three parts.
The traditional, pro-Russian wing is led by Thierry Mariani, while the pro-Ukrainian and pro-Western wing is made up of Bardella supporters led by Pierre-Romain Thionet. Between the two groups is a third group that pays little attention to these issues; they are mainly pro-Russian politicians who, however, are aware that this is no longer a good position to gain the support of the voters.
Much depends on who the RN will put forward as its presidential candidate. If Marine Le Pen manages to get her ban on running lifted, her name will likely grace the ballot. So far, Bardella is leading the polls, and she will run if the ruling stands.
Bardella’s stance on Putin is harsher, while Le Pen’s approach is shaped by the policies of former French President Charles de Gaulle, who was hostile to the United States and believed that the French should work more closely with the Soviet Union. Le Pen has repeatedly promised France’s withdrawal from NATO, and the issue of a multimillion-euro loan the party received from Moscow in 2014 is still a hot topic.
To emerge from the political backstage, it was important for the RN to tone down its pro-Kremlin rhetoric.
The aim is to appeal to a wider electorate while also bolstering the party’s credibility. That’s partly why the party has made a big show of repaying a loan to a Russian-linked lender in 2023. The war in Ukraine has also accelerated the shift in stance. Bardella told the BBC in December that he and the party unequivocally condemn Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
At the same time, the party’s stance remains ambivalent, particularly when it comes to its willingness to confront Moscow. Last year, RN MEPs abstained from a resolution on Russia and Ukraine, while in Paris party members abstained from a symbolic vote on military and political support for Kiev. Bardella’s support also has its limits – he has spoken out against sending long-range missiles to Ukraine and has rejected the possibility of stationing French troops on Ukrainian territory after the war ends, unless required by a UN mandate.
Bardella is an MEP and was elected party president in 2021. He is also the face of change in the RN. In an interview with the French newspaper L’Opinion in 2023, the politician said that there is a certain collective naivety about Putin’s intentions.
In December, RN deputies approved an increase in French defense spending.
The government justified the increase in military spending by citing a possible war between Russia and NATO.
Thionnet, who is also one of Bardella’s closest defense advisers, said that the RN supported the change in the format of the armed forces partly because of the threat posed by Russia. However, he stressed that the party does not support portraying a possible war as inevitable, when in fact it should work on how to prevent this risk.
However, unlike French President Emmanuel Macron, even the RN’s more pro-Ukrainian factions have refused to call Russia an existential threat.
Thionet, however, stressed that Mariani’s strongly pro-Kremlin stance on Russia did not reflect the party’s position as a whole, but rather an isolated incident. After Russia annexed Crimea, Mariani visited there and later suggested that Ukraine was also to blame for the war. He is also currently not shying away from appearing in Russian media.
Despite Bardella’s efforts to change the party’s image, the old figures are still influential,
and those more pro-Russian have not been sidelined.
According to Le Point, one of Le Pen’s closest advisers, Philippe Olivier, has expressed irritation with Thionet’s stance. Another senior party member, speaking anonymously, called Thionet an “Atlanticist” – a considerable insult in a party known for its anti-US stance.
The party’s stance on NATO is mixed. Thionnet said that the overall leadership would be maintained, and that France would not make a rapid withdrawal from NATO under the leadership of the RN. He also stressed that France’s responsibility to its allies and Article 5 is beyond doubt.
In recent months, the party has tried to present itself as a force for peace, and leading party members have said that France should not provoke Russia. The party’s secretary general in parliament, Renaud Labaye, said that Le Pen had already indicated that French peacekeepers would only go to Ukraine if they had a UN mandate. If NATO demanded it, such a decision would not even be discussed, as it would mean waving a red flag in Russia’s eyes.
Last year, RN members regularly accused Macron of fomenting hostilities and using Ukraine to distract attention from problems at home.
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