French National Front and Russia

The National Front truly embodies the future of France and more French citizens realize the need to get out of the false alternatives, pseudo-left or pseudo-right, which conduct the same policy of obeying Brussels and Washington.

The French National Front has refused to support the EU sanctions and European parliament initiatives against Russia in connection with crisis in Ukraine. Emmanuel Leroy, French political scientist and former advisor of the National Front leader Marine Le Pen, discussed situation in Europe and relations with Russia with www.valdaiclub.com editor-in-chief Alexander Artamonov.

There is a lot of fuss around some statements by the French National Front in support of Russian position regarding the situation in East Ukraine and scandal in the Le Pen family. Can you say whether the French National Front represents the future of France? Can the National Front unite the rightist forces?

At first I’d like to say that it would be wrong to classify the National Front on the right side of the political spectrum. Some its opponents including Nicolas Sarkozy said that the National Front had leftist economic policy, even the extreme left. In years 2010-2012 one of them encouraged Marine Le Pen to break with the ultra-liberalism.

Putting a party on the political spectrum to the right means defense of liberal ideas, today we can say this about Mr Hollande and his Socialist Party, Republicans and UMP, which are on the right arc of the political spectrum. I truly believe that it is better to position the National Front of Marine Le Pen in the so-called Gaullien perspective, not the Gaullist one, which refers to the above-mentioned parties. From this point of view the National Front truly embodies the future of France and more French citizens open their eyes and realize the need to get out of the false alternatives, pseudo-left or pseudo-right, which conduct the same policy of obeying Brussels and Washington.

Obey Brussels and Washington or be Gaullien -faithful to the traditions of France and its sovereignty as it was planned and thought by General De Gaulle ... Do you believe that the Paris-Berlin-Moscow axis which is so vaunted by some French politicians as, for example, Jean-Michel Vernochet and supported by Marine Le Pen would one day becomes a reality or is it a fantastic idea that Brussels would never allow?

It is clear that the Brussels bureaucratic superstructure, lying under the heel of the Anglo-Saxon oligarchy, will never allow European politicians not to be marionettes. NATO and the European Commission have created a schism, or at least an insurmountable border between Russia and Europe. It is perfectly clear, especially if we watch the Ukrainian crisis.

One important thing: some political scientists, whom I respect and appreciate (Jean-Michel Vernochet and also Henri de Grossouvre) make a mistake when they talk about a Paris-Berlin-Moscow axis. I regret, and Russia, I think, regrets too, but we can’t currently rely on Germany, because it is totally subservient to the orders from Washington.

Unfortunately, during last 20 years France became one of the best students of NATO, but the political position of Germany since 1945 is much more dependent to the orders of the Western victors than the French policy. If there is a hope to liberate Europe, it should be connected at first with a Paris-Moscow axis. Berlin currently is not an independent political actor even if its economic weight is colossal.

So France could return to what was called in the nineteenth century "a reverse alliance", that should mean an alliance with Moscow avoiding Berlin. A question in this regard is extremely sensitive for all Europe, because there are two hot spots, two sites where we fight today: it is Ukraine as well as the Middle East, more exactly Syria. Ukraine crisis is full of contradictions. No one knows how to move out of this crisis that escalated into open war. What would be, in your view, the approach to solve the Ukrainian problem in the least painful way for Europe?

This is not a simple question. From my point of view, the conflict in Syria and the Ukrainian crisis are related. This is the same war whose origins are very old. For centuries, the Anglo-American oligarchs continued to impose their order in different corners of the world by military, geopolitical and economic means. Therefore, their efforts to destabilize Mr. Assad in Syria are connected with the Maidan revolution, which has brought to power in Kiev puppets of Washington.

As I said the two wars are linked and they aim to diminish Russia’s influence on the Syrian soil by taking away the control of Tartus naval base and thus to weaken the main Syrian and Iranian ally in the Middle East region. This strategy aims to bring down Iran, which remains a buffer against the Anglo-Saxon pressure on the southern slopes of the Caucasus.

As to Ukraine, I hope that France will not commit the same mistake of 1853, when the first Crimea war broke out. French soldiers went to the war at the request of the British in a conflict that did not interest us at all. We had no interest - neither political nor economic nor of any kind - to go to this war. France only served the interests of the British Empire.

You have been in big politics for many years. Do you intend to remain with the National Front activities, or would you practice a university politology?

I feel to have already reached a certain age and experience in politics. For me it is more useful to try to build bridges between different circles, different groups of interest, intellectual, economic ones. For me it is much more interesting to promote a so-called soft-power, different from the Anglo-Saxon values, to put in place mechanisms, organizations, which could be beneficial in the interest of the people. I feel more able to work in that area rather than on the traditional political arena which takes a lot of time and often with minimal results.

Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.