Leaders of France's National Rally (RN) party, Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, issued a joint statement on 19/9 condemning Moscow's "hostile actions." Their protest followed the Russian government's seizure of assets belonging to French retail group Auchan and Swiss food group Nestle within Russia.

"We will never accept a foreign power, in this case Russia, seeking to directly or indirectly impose its country's policies through threats, intimidation, destabilization, or psychological pressure," Le Pen and Bardella stated.

Marine Le Pen speaks in Henin-Beaumont on 13/9 during an RN campaign event. *Photo: AFP*

The RN leaders linked the asset seizures to a deteriorating European security environment. They cited an unsuccessful drone attack carrying explosives targeting Leipzig airport, which German officials attributed to Russia. This incident, along with recent warnings about destabilizing activities aimed at countries supporting Ukraine, underscores their concerns.

In response, Le Pen and Bardella called on France to strengthen protection of strategic infrastructure, sensitive facilities, and defense industry businesses. They also expressed solidarity with European nations targeted by sabotage or destabilization operations suspected of Russian involvement.

Reaffirming national sovereignty, the far-right leaders declared, "French foreign policy is decided in Paris," emphasizing that this policy cannot be dictated by Russia or any other country.

This statement comes as France prepares for presidential elections in 4/2027. President Emmanuel Macron, ineligible for a third term, held a meeting with French political leaders on 18/9 to discuss the increasing threat from Russia. Le Pen notably did not attend this meeting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that Nestle and Auchan's operations in Russia were placed under state management. The Kremlin transferred control of these businesses to Russian agencies, employing a mechanism previously applied to several "unfriendly" Western companies that withdrew from the market in 2023.

Under this mechanism, the Russian assets of French dairy company Danone and Danish beer company Carlsberg were temporarily placed under state management before being transferred or sold to Russian owners. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov explained the move to seize assets from the two European companies as Moscow's "response to hostile actions" from Europe, including sanctions against Russia and aid packages to Ukraine.

Thanh Danh (AFP, Kyiv Independent, Kyiv Post)