Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) is willing to give France’s new Prime Minister Michel Barnier a chance, an MEP for the party has said.
Fabrice Leggeri, who also previously served as the head of the European Union’s Frontex border agency, insisted that RN would not work to sabotage the new PM as long as he did not violate what he called any “red lines”.
Speaking in the Brussels Signal studio, Leggeri insisted that RN did not want to needlessly “block” France by opposing Barnier and so would gauge his performance before acting against him.
“So far, Mr Barnier seems to respect our voters. Seems to be inclined to understand that there is an issue with migration,” he said.
“That’s the context. But then, we will see what he will propose, because Mr Barnier as a new Prime Minister will have to deliver a speech in front of the French National Assembly, and so we will judge after Mr Barnier makes that speech.”
Leggeri added that his party was still not ruling out voting to censure the PM, a move that would likely see Barnier ousted from the job as a result of additional opposition from the French Left.
“We don’t exclude voting against Mr Barnier in the National Assembly in the coming weeks or months,” he said, adding that the RN’s actions would be dependent on issues such as the upcoming French budget.
“But we will not block the country,” he added. “We are constructive.”
The full interview with Leggeri will be published on the Brussels Signal homepage and Youtube channel shortly.
The EU’s former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has been named France’s next prime minister. https://t.co/I2rRcUgTBJ
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 5, 2024
