French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is confident her party will win an absolute majority in parliament, form a government and impose restrictions on President Emmanuel Macron's actions in support of Ukraine, she said days before the vote quoted from Reuters, writes BTA.
Macron will remain president after the two rounds of early parliamentary elections on June 30 and July 7, which he called after the “National Assembly” Le Pen's (NC) defeated his centrist alliance "Together!" in the European elections, but he may have to share power with his opponents.
„Regarding the choice of prime minister, the president understood that there was not much of a choice as Jordan Bardela would have a mandate from the French people,” Le Pen told the regional newspaper “Telegram de Brest”, pointing to the party's candidate you are for the post of prime minister.
Polls consistently show that Le Pen's anti-immigrant and Eurosceptic party has a comfortable lead in terms of vote share, with the left-wing coalition in second and Macron's centrists in third.
The big unknown, however, is whether the National Assembly can win an absolute majority of 289 or more seats in parliament. The latest opinion poll, published yesterday by the French Institute for Public Opinion Research, predicted the party and its allies would win between 220 and 260 seats.
"How arrogant of Marine Le Pen to think that the National Assembly has already won the elections," commented the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barot to the television channel TEF 1.
Macron's mandate runs until 2027 and he cannot be forced to step down.
In its post-war history, France has had three periods of "coexistence" when the president and government were from opposite political camps.
Le Pen predicted this would be unpleasant for Macron, even hinting that she thought he might step down early.
"I don't know what his reaction will be. Given his arrogance, will he last long?", she said in the interview published on the “Telegram” website. late last night.
The French constitution gives the president wide discretion over foreign policy and defense when there is “coexistence” while the prime minister and government have a leading role in domestic affairs, including economic policy.
But Le Pen seems to believe that Bardella, as prime minister, will be able to limit Macron's freedom of action.
"For the president to be the head of the army is an honorary title because the prime minister is the one who holds the purse strings," she said. "Jordan does not intend to fight with him (Macron), but he has clearly indicated the red lines. Regarding Ukraine, the president will not be able to send troops", Le Pen is categorical.
The French president caused a diplomatic row in February when he said Western countries should not rule out sending troops to Ukraine to help it in its war against Russian invaders. The United States and key European allies have since said they have no plans to send ground troops to Ukraine.
Once considered too toxic to gain power because of its virulent anti-immigrant stance, which critics say fuels racism, as well as past anti-Semitic comments, “National Assembly” has been completely rebranded by Le Pen and Bardella in recent years.
The two portray the party as a defender of the working class and promote policies such as lowering the retirement age.
The formation remains strongly anti-immigrant. Her policies include reducing or revoking immigrants' access to welfare and health care and removing the automatic right of children born in France to foreign-born parents to be French citizens.
Le Pen has increasingly portrayed immigration not only as a cultural threat to what she considers authentic French values, but also as an economic burden the nation cannot afford.
"Immigration is the elephant in the room. We don't know how much it costs, she told Telegram. as part of his commentary on how a National Assembly government would deal with France's diminished public finances.