Marine Le Pen, the leading figurehead with the right wing National Rally (RN) party has said she will not seek the immediate removal of President Emmanuel Macron from office should RN come out on top in France's upcoming general election.
The former long-time RN leader currently heads the party’s faction in parliament. Macron called a snap election after his party lost spectacularly to the RN in the EU parliamentary elections earlier this month.
Le Pen, who has run for president three times in the past, has been a vocal critic of Macron’s immigration and social policies, as well as his support for arming Ukraine.
In an interview with Le Figaro published on Sunday, Le Pen was asked whether her party would call for the resignation of the president if the National Rally emerges victorious in the upcoming election. The veteran politician said she would not.
“I am respectful of institutions, I am not calling for institutional chaos. There will simply be cohabitation,” she said.
Despite this, Le Pen insisted that Macron has left France “in ruins,” with public services destroyed and immigration out of control. She went on to claim that while the political system established in France by General Charles de Gaulle is still intact, Macron has “put in place the conditions for a total blockage of the democratic functioning of our country.”
The National Rally, on the other hand, embodies “order and tranquility,” Le Pen insisted, adding that she sees her role as “president of the majority group of a cohabitation government.”
Le Pen stressed that “competent people of good will, whatever their political color” would be welcome to join in. She claimed that a number of “senior officials and diplomats” have signaled their willingness to work with the right-wing party.
Addressing supporters earlier this month, Le Pen said the party is ready to “exercise power if the French people place their trust in us in these future legislative elections.” Current National Rally leader Jordan Bardella echoed the statement, arguing that the people have expressed a “desire for change.”
The comments came shortly after Macron announced his decision to dissolve the National Assembly and call a snap general election. He cited “the historic score of the far-right” and current “parliamentarian disorder” as the reason for his decision.