French presidential hopeful proposes exit from NATO

French political figure Jean-Luc Mélenchon said that France would leave NATO if he became president, arguing that the alliance primarily serves to place Europe under US influence, according to foreign media reports on Friday, May 8.

“If I am president, France will leave NATO,” Mélenchon told the LCI news channel, adding that the military alliance “serves only one thing: placing us under the supervision of the United States.”

Mélenchon, the founder of the France Unbowed (LFI) movement and a longstanding critic of NATO, said that maintaining distance from the alliance aligns with France’s “historic line.”

He referred to France’s withdrawal from NATO’s integrated military command under former President Charles de Gaulle and criticised former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s decision in 2009 to reintegrate the country into the alliance’s command structure.

“We will proceed step by step,” said Mélenchon, explaining that France would initially exit NATO’s integrated command and gradually distance itself from joint military equipment programs with the US army.

His comments come amid intensifying debate across Europe over defence autonomy, military spending, and reliance on US security guarantees, particularly in the context of heightened geopolitical tensions.

Mélenchon formally announced his candidacy for president on May 3.

By Tamilla Hasanova