The National Rally has been forced to perform a delicate dance when it comes to Trump, whose administration last month hinted it was ready to throw its weight between “patriotic European parties” in its bombshell national security strategy.
In contrast with his jabs at the U.S., Bardella didn’t explicitly mention Russia in his speech, although in response to a question from POLITICO he warned against being too confrontational with Moscow.
“Russia is today a multidimensional threat for a number of European interests,” he said. “But Russia is a nuclear power and … it’s never good in the world that we know when two nuclear powers are staring each other in the face.”
The National Rally’s past ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and its dovish stance on support for Ukraine have fueled fears among Kyiv’s allies that if Bardella or his mentor Marine Le Pen accessed power, it would seriously dial down Paris’ leading role in the coalition of European countries willing to provide security guarantees to the embattled country.
Bardella reiterated his red lines concerning security guarantees on Monday, notably on sending French ground troops, something he opposes. Asked whether he would uphold the commitments that have been signed by President Emmanuel Macron, the far-right leader said he supported “some of them.”
Early polling ahead of France’s next presidential election, scheduled for 2027, shows Bardella defeating all the other candidates polled. Marine Le Pen is the party’s official candidate but is currently under a five-year election ban following her conviction in the embezzlement of EU funds last year. She is trying to overturn that ban in an appeal trial that starts this week.