Called into question by an investigation by Washington Post which accuses it of persistent links with the Kremlin with a view to weakening France’s support for Ukraine, the National Rally denounced this Tuesday “a cabal”, while confirming its desire to reverse the sanctions targeting Russia . According to the American newspaper’s investigation, Russia is carrying out a subversion enterprise in France, in which the party chaired by Jordan Bardella plays an important role.
The daily cites “Kremlin documents, obtained by a European security service” involving Vladimir Putin’s entourage, whose methods, according to it, combine the influence of social networks – oriented with the help of “troll farms » – and the support of far-right parties. The broader goal is to destabilize Europe, according to the Washington Post. “All governments in Western Europe will be changed,” assures Jean-Luc Schaffhauser, former MEP affiliated with Marine Le Pen’s party and quoted by the newspaper.
THE Washington Postin his investigation published on Saturday, also claims that Jean-Luc Schaffhauser “rents a floor of his residence” in Strasbourg to number two of the Russian embassy in France – which sat on the Council of Europe until his exclusion in March 2022. “It’s all a cabal,” reacted RN spokesperson Laurent Jacobelli on Sud Radio, affirming that there “is no link” between Russia and his party.
“An element of Macronist language”
Last June, the Macronist rapporteur of a parliamentary commission described the FN (now RN) as Russia’s “transmission belt”, insisting on the party’s “alignment” with the “Russian discourse” at the time of ” the illegal annexation” of Crimea in 2014, which occurred shortly after signing a loan with a Czech-Russian bank. “The RN is indeed the spokesperson for the Kremlin in France” and “plays a leading role in relaying Putin’s propaganda”, estimated, after the investigation of the Washington Postthe presidential Renaissance party in a message on X.
An “element of Macronist language” brushed aside by Laurent Jacobelli, who recalled the “clear position” of the RN on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, condemned by Marine Le Pen from February 2022. But the party remains skeptical about “ aid for offensive arms” from kyiv and opposed to the “useless embargoes” imposed on Moscow. Five months before the European elections, Laurent Jacobelli also made no secret of the fact that a victory for the far right would lead to “a radical change, particularly in the sanctions imposed on certain countries because of their policies”.