France's Le Pen and Bardella condemn Russia's 'hostile actions' in joint statement
Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, leaders of France's Rassemblement National party, published a joint statement on 19 September declaring that Russia cannot dictate French policy through intimidation or destabilisation and that France will not be forced to help Russia achieve its military goals in Ukraine. They condemned Russia's seizure of European company assets in Russia, backed measures to protect French strategic infrastructure, and argued that domestic debate over the level and terms of aid to Ukraine is legitimate while foreign pressure is not.
Key points
- Joint statement by Le Pen and Bardella published on Saturday, 19 September, condemning Russia's hostile actions toward France
- They declared Russia cannot directly or indirectly dictate French policy through intimidation, threats, destabilisation or psychological pressure
- They pledged that no provocation, covert operation or destabilising action would force France to help Russia achieve its military goals in Ukraine
- They condemned Russia's seizure of assets of European companies operating in Russia, naming Nestlé and Auchan, calling it a 'hostile act' against European business interests
- They expressed support for measures to strengthen the security of France's strategic infrastructure
- The statement was issued the day after an Élysée Palace briefing on geopolitical crises attended by Bardella; Le Pen did not attend
- They said a domestic French debate on the level and conditions of financial support for Ukraine is legitimate, but foreign pressure is not
Why it matters
The statement is a notably firm anti-Russian posture from a party that has long been criticised at home and abroad for positions considered conciliatory toward Moscow, and it comes the day after an Élysée Palace briefing on geopolitical threats. It lands amid a wider European alarm over Russian hybrid operations, triggered in part by a 17 September Kremlin decree effectively confiscating the Russian assets of European firms including Auchan, Leroy Merlin and Nestlé. Because Le Pen leads French presidential polls and Bardella is positioned as a potential future prime minister ahead of the 2027 vote, the declaration carries weight beyond a routine communiqué. At the same time, it couples anti-Russian rhetoric with conditionality on continued support for Ukraine, framing internal debate over the level and terms of that aid as legitimate.
What happened
On Saturday, 19 September 2026, Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella published a joint statement on behalf of France's Rassemblement National (National Rally) party. They declared that Russia cannot directly or indirectly dictate French policy through intimidation, threats, destabilisation or psychological pressure, and that no provocation, covert operation or destabilising action would force France to help Russia achieve its military goals in Ukraine. They strongly condemned Russia's decision to place under state control the Russian assets of European companies still operating there — naming Nestlé and Auchan — calling it a 'hostile act' that 'directly undermines the interests and rights' of European businesses. The pair said they supported all measures necessary to strengthen the security of France's strategic infrastructure and that France must not leave unpunished any hostile acts committed on its territory against its infrastructure, strategic interests or people. They also argued that domestic debate in France on the level and conditions of financial support for Ukraine is legitimate, while foreign pressure is not. The statement came a day after an Élysée Palace meeting attended by Bardella, at which French political forces were briefed on the geopolitical crises facing France. On Friday, 18 September, President Emmanuel Macron had said he had instructed the government to prepare a plan to protect critical infrastructure from Russian hybrid attacks.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian-language media uniformly cast the statement as a sharp rebuke of Russia and centred Russia's hostile actions against French and European interests — the asset seizures and the broader hybrid-threat picture — as the trigger for the statement. Coverage foregrounded the Ukraine angle: Le Pen and Bardella's pledge that France would not be coerced into helping Russia achieve its military goals in Ukraine, set against Le Pen's recent remarks that France cannot sustain its previous level of financial support for Kyiv. Ukrainian outlets also recalled the party's history with Moscow — a 2014 €9.4 million loan from a Russian bank, repaid in 2023, and Le Pen's 2017 meeting with Vladimir Putin — as the reason her condemnation of Russia is being read as a significant shift.
Where reporting differs
Ukrainian sources note that a French court sentenced Le Pen on 31 March 2025 to four years in prison and barred her from public office for five years, effectively disqualifying her from the 2027 presidential election. A later article reports that in July an appeals court upheld her conviction but allowed her to run in elections, leaving the question of whether she is currently barred from the 2027 race unsettled in the supplied coverage.
Background
On 18 September, President Macron said he had instructed the government to prepare a plan to protect critical infrastructure from Russian hybrid attacks. On 16 September, Le Pen said France could not maintain its previous level of financial support for Ukraine, while arguing this was not 'hostile to Ukraine' and that France could continue training and equipping Ukrainian soldiers. Bardella has previously proposed that France obtain economic returns for its military and financial assistance to Kyiv, citing France's high public debt and budget deficit and pointing to a US-style 'minerals agreement' as a model. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said intelligence indicates Russian plans for hybrid strikes against countries supporting Ukraine, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the EU plans to present a new security strategy to complement Article 4 of the NATO Treaty. The Kiel Institute's Ukraine Support Tracker puts French support to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion at €26.2 billion, of which €7.9 billion is direct bilateral aid and €18.3 billion is France's contribution to EU-level support. On 17 September, Russia effectively confiscated the Russian assets of Auchan, Leroy Merlin and Nestlé under a Kremlin decree reported by Interfax.