French presidential bid brings tougher line on Ukraine funding

French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen has said she would support continuing to provide defensive military equipment and training to Ukraine but would oppose sending additional financial assistance to the war-torn country, POLITICO reports.

Speaking to French television channel LCI, the leader of the far-right National Rally said France had already provided substantial support to Kyiv.

“Given the extent of what we've done so far — which is considerable — we're saying we can't do it,” Le Pen said.

“This is not an act of hostility toward Ukraine. We can continue to train their soldiers and their armed forces, and we can continue to provide them with equipment so they can defend themselves. But financially, we can’t do it anymore,” she added.

Le Pen is leading polls ahead of next spring’s presidential election, which will determine Emmanuel Macron’s successor. France’s strained public finances are expected to be a major issue in the campaign, with the budget deficit potentially exceeding 5% this year.

France’s direct financial assistance to Ukraine is relatively limited, while the National Rally has long opposed the European Union’s €90 billion loan to Kyiv, which is guaranteed by the bloc’s budget and ultimately supported by member states.

National Rally officials have argued privately that Ukraine will be unable to repay the loan, leaving EU member states to bear the cost.

“You can't say, on the one hand, that there isn't a single euro … to adjust pensions for inflation, but, on the other hand, that there are billions for the net contribution to the European Union,” Le Pen said.

She added that, if elected, she would organize a peace conference bringing together Russia, Ukraine and European countries including Germany and Poland to seek an end to the war.

Rejecting proposals to deploy French fighter jets to protect Ukrainian airspace, she said: “That would make us co-belligerents,” Le Pen underlined.

By Vafa Guliyeva