le pen
© Benoit Tessier / Reuters
Frankrigs præsidentkandidat, Marine Le Pen, sagde i et interview til en græsk avis, at NATO kun eksisterer for at "tjene NATO's interesser", og at hun planlægger at afholde en Brexit lignende folkeafstemning.

Le Pen, lederen af Frankrigs højrefløjsparti, Front National, og kandidat ved præsidentvalget i 2017, er kendt for sin euroskepticisme og anti-immigrationssynspunkter. Hun foreslår at Frankrig sammen med Portugal, Italien, Spanien, Irland, Grækenland og Kypern burde forlade den Europæiske Union.

"Frexit vil blive en del af mit program," sagde hun i et interview med Dimokratia. "Folk må have mulighed for at stemme for frigørelse fra det slavery og den afpresning, der pålægges af teknokrater i Brussel og føre suveræniteten tilbage til landet."

Sammen med sin vigtigste rival, centrum-højre kandidaten Francois Fillon, har Le Pen talt om et tættere samarbejde med Rusland og har kritiseret NATO for dets ekspansion ind i Østeuropa. Le sagde, at hun ville tage Frankrig ud af alliancen, hvis hun blev præsident, for, som hun sagde, dets eksistens er ikke længere påkrævet.


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"It was established when there was a risk from the Warsaw Pact and the expansionism of the communist Soviet Union," said Le Pen. "The Soviet Union no longer exists, and neither does the Warsaw Pact. Washington maintains the NATO presence to serve its objectives in Europe."

On the topic of immigration, Le Pen said she supported measures to restrict the flow of asylum seekers into Europe.

"I am against the policy which would promote the entry of immigrants into Europe, which cannot accept them ... this tsunami of migrants should be limited. Europe does not have the power to ensure they all find work and opportunities to enrich themselves. Immigrants are illegal since once they set foot on European soil ... they have violated the law. They must be sent back to their homeland. "

However, when asked whether the National Front has ties to the far-right Greek party Golden Dawn, a group often described as extremist, Le Pen said she "neither has nor wants" relations with them.

Le Pen is running against former Prime Minister Francois Fillon of the Republican Party in the French presidential elections due to be held in May next year. A left-wing candidate for the Socialist Party has not yet been nominated, as incumbent President Francois Hollande has stated he would not be running for a second term.