French far left enshrines leaving NATO in official presidential platform
Polls show Jean-Luc Mélenchon could reach the French presidential election's second round next year.
In a bold new presidential platform, Jean-Luc Mélenchon's party has called for France to withdraw from NATO and nationalize defense companies. The 222-page document, titled "France Unbowed," outlines plans to immediately withdraw from NATO's integrated command before eventually exiting the entire organization. The party rejects the 5% of GDP defense spending demanded by the United States, a demand they believe is too high.
Despite these strong stances, Mélenchon's party still pledges to provide assistance to other European Union countries under EU treaties. Mélenchon himself has previously stated France's position on this matter. The polls show Mélenchon trailing President Emmanuel Macron, but a potential runoff election next year could see him facing off against far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who also plans to remove France from NATO's integrated command.
Unlike Le Pen's party, France Unbowed does not explicitly state it would halt financial aid to Ukraine, but insists on a diplomatic resolution. The party advocates for stricter arms regulation, including guidelines for lethal autonomous weapons and nuclear weapons. They also aim to curb the "space arms race" by closing NATO's space center in Toulouse and pushing for France to develop its own shuttle.
France Unbowed lawmakers have previously supported Dassault Aviation's Vortex project, a European reusable orbital spaceplane program. Additionally, the party calls for increased investment in critical military equipment like communications, intelligence, and logistics, which are currently largely provided by the U.S. through NATO. The full defense-focused platform is expected to be released soon.
Written by urgent.news from Politico EU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
