4 takeaways from POLITICO’s interviews with French presidential candidates Le Pen, Mélenchon, Attal
The three politicians vying to succeed Emmanuel Macron spoke at the first-ever Playbook Paris Live on Thursday.
1. The three main contenders for the 2027 French presidential election – far-right leader Marine Le Pen, far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon and centrist former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal – converged at POLITICO’s Playbook Paris Live summit to discuss their visions for Europe, Ukraine and international relations.
2. Each candidate had differing approaches to supporting Ukraine. Attal, who is pro-EU, suggested using seized Russian assets to fund Kyiv’s defense and not ruling out sending European planes to protect Ukrainian airspace. In contrast, Le Pen believed France could not afford to financially aid Ukraine due to budgetary constraints, preferring to train its soldiers and provide military aid instead.
Mélenchon advocated for a complete ban on Ukrainian deep strikes into Russian territory, arguing that France was becoming a belligerent by providing weapons to Ukraine.
3. Regarding Ukraine's conflict with Russia, Le Pen supported President Donald Trump’s decision to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in Miami, believing that any initiatives to end the violence were welcome. Mélenchon opposed supplying military equipment to Ukraine, fearing it would put France in harm’s way. He also called for a ban on deep strikes into Russian territory, warning that the country would become a belligerent if they were to fire upon Moscow.
4. Attal took a strong pro-European stance, pushing for further economic and environmental integration, as well as cooperation on tech regulation. He proposed the idea of a "United States of Europe" and a multi-speed approach to ambitious projects like a capital markets union. Attal also criticized the EU budget and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, accusing her of bypassing democracy in her negotiations.
In contrast, Le Pen pledged to drastically reduce France's contribution to the EU budget and accused von der Leyen of "bypassing democracy" in her budget negotiations.
Written by urgent.news from Politico EU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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