Marine Le Pen and the RN expect concrete actions from Michel Barnier, while welcoming some of his statements and setting clear demands on immigration and democratic representation.
Marine Le Pen expresses her expectations of the new Prime Minister, stressing the importance of moving from words to actions.
In an interview with La Tribune du dimanche, she details her demands in terms of immigration and budgetary savings, while welcoming certain statements by Michel Barnier.
Respect for voters
The leader of the RN deputies in the Assembly reacted positively to her statements on the votes of the National Rally which “counted”. “Yes, it seems to me to be a fairly clear break with the functioning imposed by the President of the Republic and by his party, Renaissance”, she rejoices. Adding: “It is normal, in a democracy, that the first group of the National Assembly is considered, but it is also perfectly normal that the 11 million voters who voted for us in the legislative elections can be respected and heard in their demands. We are therefore returning to a normal democratic functioning and it is a benefit for everyone”.
Proportional voting
The Prime Minister also mentioned the possibility of implementing proportional voting, a proposal that Marine Le Pen welcomed. “Of course, since this was part of the demands that we could make, for a clear reason, moreover, and which is not only an interest of the National Rally: we are for the moment, even if it can change, in a situation of tripolarization of political life,” she explained. She stressed that single-round proportional representation would allow for better representation of political currents and transparency of the objectives of the different parties vis-à-vis their voters.
Immigration : diagnostic partagé
Marine Le Pen conditions her absence of prior censure of the Prime Minister on the non-aggravation of France’s migration problems. She welcomes his diagnosis of France’s “sieve borders”. “It is indisputable that Michel Barnier seems to have the same observation on immigration as we do. Now, we expect action from him,” she warns. She recalls the proposals of the Brexit negotiator during the 2021 LR primary, which largely joined the RN line.
The former far-right presidential candidate calls on Michel Barnier to implement a three- to five-year moratorium on immigration. “Of course, why not? In any case, he is at least aware that immigration is a major problem. And I remember the time when he explained that out-of-control immigration was one of the reasons for Brexit; it is an analysis that I share,” she assures.
Composition of the government
Marine Le Pen also expressed her intention to closely monitor the composition of Michel Barnier’s government. “The censure of the government is the censure of the government, not that of the Prime Minister alone. If we commit to an immediate non-censorship because Michel Barnier expresses a fair consideration for all voters, I think that he must also have a government that respects this line of conduct,” she specified.
“Our wish is not to create a blockage,” she added on the subject of possible censorship in the event of the presence of socialist ministers in the new government. “If we had wanted it, we would have done like the New Popular Front and threatened to censor everyone. That is not our state of mind. We want there to be a government, and this government will obviously be under surveillance. We have set our demands and we will not change them.”
At this stage, no meeting is planned between Michel Barnier and the leaders of the RN, Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, “but I consider it consistent that he first consults with a view to forming his government,” she concludes.
