French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal accused the French far-right RN party of having into a “moral contract” with Russia.
Attal stated that during a TV debate with the leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), Jordan Bardella, hoping to influence voters a few days before the European elections, Euractiv reported.
“You are bound by a moral contract with Russia. Russia needed a party in Europe to weaken the EU from within,” the French prime minister said.
Gabriel Attal recalled that the party previously led by Marine Le Pen received a loan from a Russian bank worth 9 million euros in 2014.
Attal noted that even if the money was returned, the French far-right “is not free in its votes and decisions in the European Parliament” because it is bound by mutual interests with the Kremlin.
Bardella rejected the accusations, saying that his party “has always condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine without the slightest ambiguity.”
However, Bardella admitted that he, like all other political leaders, “made a mistake” about Vladimir Putin’s intentions towards the EU and that Russian threats had been underestimated in the past, calling it “collective naivety.”
The TV debate between Attal and Bardella covered a wide range of topics, from the economy to trade, agriculture, immigration, and the war in Ukraine.
Attal tried to prove that the National Rally “hates Europe,” while Bardella argued that Attal was responsible for seven years of Emmanuel Macron’s disastrous European leadership.
Gabriel Attal was considered an asset to persuade undecided voters, as the RN was leading the polls with over 30% of voting intentions and Macron’s team was struggling to maintain momentum before the European elections.
It is all the more pressing as the majority election list, led by MEP Valérie Hayer, is being followed by socialist Raphaël Glucksmann, at 15 and 13%, respectively, according to the latest polls.
Bardella has previously stated that he wants to rewrite EU treaties and fight “Fonderleynism” targeting the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
