Na television debate, the last before the first round of legislative elections next Sunday, in which the far-right National Union (RN, from the original French name Rassemblement National) is the clear favorite, Attal took advantage of some statements from the leader of his party, Marine Le Pen, who relativized Macron’s power in the Armed Forces, to attack Bardella.
“The message that was sent is clear: if the RN wins these elections, there will be a dispute between the President (Macron) and the Prime Minister (eventually Bardella). This is a very serious message to the entire world about France’s security,” Attal said.
Bardella, whose party was linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime, clarified, reading the Constitution, that it is up to the Government to validate, for example, the funds that are dedicated to the Army.
The far-right candidate announced that he “will not allow Russian imperialism to absorb an allied state like Ukraine”, but added that France “will protect itself from any risk of escalation” of this conflict and will oppose the sending of long-range missiles. to Ukraine.
“We understand that Bardella wants to disarm Ukraine,” Attal insisted.
The first secretary of the Socialist Party (PS), Olivier Faure, representative of the left front in the debate, classified as “coup tendencies” the questioning, as Bardella did, of the role of the President of the Republic as head of the Armed Forces.
Marine Le Pen had already questioned President Emmanuel Macron’s role as commander-in-chief of the armed forces today and argued that some defense decisions are up to the prime minister.
Le Pen has repeatedly said that Jordan Bardella, her protégé and the main leader of the RN party, would be prime minister if she wins.
Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu immediately reacted to the interview and wrote on social media that “the Constitution is not honorific,” according to the French agency AFP.
The constitutional text establishes that “the President of the Republic is the head of the armed forces”, and presides over the higher councils and committees of national defense, but also that “the Prime Minister is responsible for national defense”.
Constitutionalists say the prime minister’s exact role in foreign and defense policy appears to be subject to interpretation, according to the AP.
The last time France had a prime minister and president from different parties, the two generally agreed on strategic defense and foreign policy issues.
This time, it could be very different, given the animosity between the extreme right and the extreme left, and the resentment of both camps towards the centrist and business-friendly President, said the AP.
The first round will take place on Sunday and the second, and decisive, will take place a week later, on July 7th.
Macron called early elections following the defeat of his party, Renaissance, in the European elections, in which it received half the percentage of votes of the RN.
Read Also: Around 20 thousand French voters vote in Lisbon, Porto and Vilamoura
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2587932/attal-e-bardella-chocam-sobre-papel-de-macron-na-guerra-da-ucrania
