Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally group in the French National Assembly, and party president Jordan Bardella issued a joint statement categorically condemning Moscow’s actions. The politicians called Russia’s decision to place the assets of French and European companies operating in Russia under temporary administration a hostile act and said the Kremlin would not be able to dictate policy to Paris through intimidation and hybrid attacks.
The statement was published on the party website on 19 September 2026. Le Pen and Bardella stressed:
“We will never allow a foreign power, in this case Russia, to expect to dictate our country’s policy, directly or indirectly, through intimidation, threats, destabilization or psychological pressure.”
They separately noted that no provocations, covert operations or destabilizing actions would force France to help Russia achieve its military objectives in Ukraine. The country’s foreign policy, they said, is decided only in Paris and solely on the basis of national interests.
Several events prompted the statement. Russian authorities placed the Russian subsidiaries of France’s Auchan and Leroy Merlin, as well as Switzerland’s Nestlé, under external administration. RN leaders called this a hostile step against the interests of France and Europe. They also pointed to a rise in hybrid operations that European authorities link to Russian intelligence services, including the drone incident at Leipzig airport.
The statement came against the backdrop of a briefing at the Élysée Palace, where political forces were given an assessment of the deteriorating security situation. Le Pen and Bardella backed measures to protect strategic infrastructure and said France must not leave hostile actions on its territory unpunished.
