French right and extreme right, these embarrassing links with Putin's Russia
The president of the National Front, and candidate for the French presidential election, was received for the first time by President Vladimir Putin on Friday March 24, 2017. Mikhail KLIMENTYEV / SPUTNIK / AFP
Text by: Lucile Gimberg Follow
2 mins
The war in Ukraine is causing a reaction in France.
The presidential candidates condemned in chorus the Russian invasion of this Thursday, February 24.
But some, especially those on the extremes, qualify by considering that Russia may have legitimate concerns for its security because of the expansion of NATO on its borders.
This is the case on the far left, especially with Jean-Luc Mélenchon, in the name of American anti-imperialism in particular, but also on the side of the right and the far right, which maintain links with Russia. of Vladimir Putin.
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In 2014, he said he admired her;
in 2018, he said he dreamed of a “French Poutine”.
Éric Zemmour has been defending the Russian autocrat for years and resuming his rhetoric.
So this Thursday, the far-right candidate condemned the military intervention in Ukraine, but added: “
Westerners have a responsibility in the escalation of violence in the East.
They must understand the Russian demands against the expansion of NATO
”.
Russian loan to the FN
We must unequivocally condemn the Russian operation, also assures her rival on the far right, Marine Le Pen.
However, the RN candidate has strong ties with the regime.
Vladimir Putin received it in the Kremlin during the 2017 campaign. The FN obtained, in 2014, a loan of more than nine million euros in Russia.
And one of his lieutenants, Thierry Mariani, went to Crimea after the annexation by the Russians.
The Fillon case
On the right too, certain figures are sensitive to Moscow's positions.
Like the former Prime Minister and 2017 presidential candidate, François Fillon, who today sits in two oil groups close to the Kremlin.
What hinder the current candidate LR Valérie Pécresse?
It dodges, condemns Putin's regime, while refusing Ukraine's entry into NATO.
No question of offending the fillonist electorate that she is trying to convince.
►Also read
: France: in the middle of the presidential campaign, the Ukrainian test for Emmanuel Macron
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French politics
Presidential France 2022
Eric Zemmour
Valerie Pécresse
Jean Marie Le Pen