Marine Le Pen vows to help UK bring illegal migrants home 'when I become president in 2027'

Marine Le Pen: Britain wants to defend its borders Photo: Stephane de Sacutin/AFP via Getty Images

Marine Le Pen vowed join forces with the UK to deport migrants who illegally cross the English Channel in small boats «when I am elected President of France» as the National Rally leader confirmed her intention to run for office in 2027.

54- The summertime euroskeptic populist has been elated amid polls suggesting she would now easily beat Emmanuel Macron if there was a rematch in the second round of the presidential election today. «I'm running until further notice,» she told The Telegraph in an interview with several European newspapers.

An Ipsos poll on Wednesday found her the second most popular political figure in France, after Edouard Philippe, 52, mr. Macron's former prime minister.

This was Ms Le Pen's highest approval rating of 39 percent. Meanwhile, Mr Macron has fallen to his lowest rating in four years at 28%.

In March, Rishi Sunak and Mr Macron announced a new deal involving Anglo-French cooperation to combat the surge in migrants to «unprecedented levels.» However, Mr Macron said he remains opposed to a bilateral agreement on the return of Channel migrants entering the UK illegally from France, arguing that this should be agreed with the EU as a whole.

However, Ms. Le Pen stated that «if, not when, I am elected President of France», she will go further in bilateral, and not in pan-European cooperation.

“The UK wants to protect its borders and therefore prevent illegal immigrants from entering the UK. They came from France,” she said.

“We should have the opportunity, the UK and France on a bilateral basis, to be able to visit the countries where these illegal immigrants come from, to make codeshare flights to send illegal immigrants back to their country of origin. It's all two-way.»

Swella Braverman's Irregular Migration Bill aims to close loopholes by effectively barring asylum claims in the UK, except in exceptional circumstances.

It places a duty on the Home Secretary to immediately deport any migrant who illegally enters a safe third country such as Rwanda or their home state, whether they have filed an asylum application, filed a human rights claim or applied for judicial review of their removal.

When asked if she could provide for sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, Ms Le Pen replied, “Why not?”.

She said she had no problem with the UK continuing to carry out border controls in France and «contribute part of its fleet to be able to send illegal immigrants back to their country of origin, which obviously seems like the most reasonable solution.»

Ms Le Pen reiterated her campaign promise to hold a «referendum on ending immigration and controlling our borders», which would also introduce «national preferences» into the constitution.

Inside, Ms Le Pen is in pink. After a failed 2017 campaign, she looked less shaky in the 2022 rematch and her RN party won a record 89 MPs.

While Mr Macron is involved in mass protests against pension reform, and his party, which does not have a parliamentary majority, is engaged in fierce skirmishes with MPs from the French left, Ms Le Pen's group is keeping a low profile, and her MPs are wearing ties and «started work».

The left has lost support due to support for the protests and failure to strongly condemn the violence, but it has profited from anger against both pension reform and «far-left» vandalism at demonstrations.

“I fully understand that the French express their opposition in demos, but I do not accept violence. And I hold the government responsible for the existing disorder: it lost the fight for public order,” she said.

This position paid off in the polls. Last week it was speculated that she would now win 55% of the vote against Macron's 45%. About 58% consider her «committed to democratic values» and 47% consider her «presidential status» — five points more.

The «demonization» of the former National Front, founded by 94-year-old Jean-Marie Le Pen, her irritable father is now complete, she said, adding that she could take «little credit» for the transformation. After a spectacular row with her hot-tempered father, Ms Le Pen said she made peace with her «old man…as long as we stay out of politics.»

“Her image has completely changed, and the structure of her electorate as well. It is no longer the same FN, it is a universal instrument,” said Frédéric Daby of the French Institute of Public Opinion.

“We have gone from the most hated party in France to the most beloved,” said Ms Le Pen, denying that her party «has ever been far-right», as she has always been for «more parliamentary democracy, political pluralism through proportional representation and against violence».

“We were given an unfair trial,” she said.

For parliamentary democracy

Far from talking about «authoritarianism», she declared that she would defend the parliamentary democracy that Mr. Macron trampled on.

«If I am elected, there will be more democracy, because I will organize referendums, I will establish a proportional system and stay in the role of President of France, making the National Assembly work,” she said.

< p>The current occupant of the Élysée poses a big threat, she said, accusing him of acting as a «growth hormone for those who no longer believe in democracy», in particular by pushing his pension bill through parliament without a vote.< /p>

In doing so, he threw thousands of young people into the streets. As soon as democracy does not express itself in the direction that the authorities want, it is bypassed. He has a great responsibility,” she said.

Unions have announced a new day of mass strikes for Thursday ahead of a key ruling by France's constitutional council on Friday on the viability of Mr Macron's pension bill. .

The unions and the left pledged to support the protests regardless of the decision. But Ms Le Pen, in an effort to show she respects the democratic process, said the council's decision was binding.

The French would have the opportunity to vote in four years, she said. «Meeting in 2027».

Ms Le Pen's Achilles' heel in the last presidential election was her infatuation with Vladimir Putin and her promise to pull France out of the NATO military command structure.

Although she has since distanced herself from Putin and condemned his illegal invasion, she declared that a Ukrainian victory over Russia would «unleash World War III.»

Ukraine would not have been able to defeat Russia militarily «without the strength of NATO,» she argued. “And this means that we will start the Third World War. I do not find this a joyful prospect.”

Allowing Putin to succeed in defeating Ukraine would also be a «disaster» because it would encourage other countries like China to «think they can settle their territorial disputes.» force.»

The solution was peace talks

Ms Le Pen said she supported the use of «defensive» but not «offensive» weapons for Ukraine, but that the «slow arrival» of French or other arms transfers could only to a stalemate similar to the Hundred Years' War.

The only solution, she said, was peace talks, in which she would gladly mediate as the leader of «the EU's only nuclear power.»

She supported Mr Macron's controversial and ultimately fruitless attempt to continue negotiations towards Putin. “The problem is that he delegated… part of the French diplomacy to the European Union. Thus, what could have been the effectiveness of France was thwarted,” she said.

Similarly, Ms Le Pen had nothing against Mr Macron's call for a compromise between the US and China on Taiwan, which left the US bewildered (Donald Trump accused Mr Macron of «kissing» Beijing) . But she rejected Mr. Macron's suggestion that the EU could act as a «third superpower.»

«[He] has been selling this to us for years. He boasts of European protection: we don't have it. He is selling us European sovereignty, which we do not have, for a simple reason: in order to have sovereignty, there must be a people. [EU] doesn't speak to anyone.»

Asked about her closeness to Georgia Meloni, Italy's far-right prime minister, she said: «I'm not Meloni's twin sister», adding that she disagrees with her pro-European, Atlanticist and pro-NATO stance.

&#34 I remain a Euroskeptic, and every day I become more so. My skepticism is not about Europe, but about the political organization of Europe,” she said.

However, the election of Ms. Meloni was positive, she said: “When we come to power, people will see that not only it's not an apocalypse, it's also the politics of common sense.”

Critics suggest that Ms. Le Pen talks a lot about sounds and lacks political detail. For example, its response to the retirement time bomb is to keep the retirement age at 62 rather than raising it to 64 with a minimum contribution period of 42 years.

She vaguely stated that the end of the baby boomer generation and «higher productivity» if she is elected will help to avoid the deficit of the state system, despite the aging of the population.