Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella issued a joint, strongly worded statement on Russia following the Kremlin’s decision to place the assets of Auchan, Nestlé and other European companies under «temporary administration». The «National Rally» described this as a hostile move and stated that Moscow would not be able to dictate France’s policy through threats, pressure or destabilisation.
Le Pen and Bardella described Russia’s actions as hostile
The statement was issued on 19 September on behalf of Marine Le Pen and the president of the «National Unity» party» Jordan Bardelli.
The document sets out the Russian authorities’ decision to place the assets of a number of French and European companies under temporary administration «a hostile act against the interests of France and the European states». The authors of the statement called for this move to be strongly condemned.
Le Pen and Bardella also stated that Russia cannot expect to be able to «directly or indirectly dictate French policy» through intimidation, threats, destabilisation or psychological pressure.
«No provocation, no covert operation and no destabilising action should force France to help Russia achieve its military objectives in Ukraine,» the statement reads.
What happened to Auchan and Nestlé’s assets?
17 September Vladimir Putin signed a decree, under which the Russian assets of several major Western companies were transferred to «interim administration» L.E.V. Management.
These include, in particular, the French company Auchan, entities linked to the former Leroy Merlin and FM Logistic, and the Swiss company Nestlé. Formally, the decree does not permanently transfer ownership, but in effect it strips the previous owners of control over their Russian assets.
The Kremlin explained the decision as a response to the actions of so-called «unfriendly states». Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov He linked this, in particular, to the sanctions policy and the support for Ukraine provided by European countries.
The RN also reported on Russian hybrid operations
The statement by the «National Association» is not just about business.
Le Pen and Bardella claim that operations which they link to Russian intelligence services and so-called «one-off agents» have become more frequent in Europe in recent weeks.
Among the examples they cited was an attack on the use of a drone near Leipzig Airport and threats to French defence and industrial facilities. According to them, it was precisely these issues that were discussed on 18 September during a meeting between political leaders and President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace.
At the same time, the party specifically emphasised that it considers political debate on the scale of financial aid to Ukraine and the need for diplomatic contacts with Russia to be legitimate. However, according to the RN, external pressure on French decision-making is unacceptable.
Le Pen’s stance on Russia used to be different
The new statement also attracted attention because of the past political history of Le Pen and her party.
In 2014, the then «National Front» secured a €9 million loan from the First Czech Russian Bank, which was based in Moscow. Le Pen explained at the time that French banks had refused to provide the party with funding.
In 2017, Le Pen met with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin and called for the lifting of EU sanctions against Russia.
It is therefore more accurate to describe the current statement as a noticeable escalation in the RN’s rhetoric towards Moscow, rather than as a complete overhaul of the party’s entire foreign policy platform. In the statement itself, Le Pen and Bardella simultaneously speak out against Russian pressure whilst reserving the right to criticise the extent of support for Ukraine.
