Marine Le Pen wants the Crimean peninsula to remain Russian. This was confirmed by the leader of the Rassemblement National (RN) parliamentary group in the National Assembly on Wednesday. The three-time presidential candidate was questioned before the parliamentary committee of inquiry "on the political, economic and financial interference of foreign powers" about her ties to Russia.

Michaela Wiegel

Political correspondent based in Paris.

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"Crimea was Russian for two centuries and Ukrainian for only 60 years," Le Pen said. In her eyes, "the whim of a dictator" who bequeathed Crimea to Ukraine does not count for much. More important is the "free decision" of the inhabitants of the Crimean peninsula, who decided in a referendum that they want to belong to Russia.

What is the role of a Czech-Russian loan?

The Russian war of aggression on Ukraine does not change her view. "I still say that today," Le Pen said. She had traveled to Crimea in June 2013 and had described the annexation as "legitimate" in 2014. She rejected doubts about the legality of the referendum. "The United Nations could have organized a new referendum," Le Pen said.

At the same time, she dismissed the suspicion that her pro-Russian stance was due to the nine-million-euro loan granted to her party by a Czech-Russian bank in 2014. These are "opportunistic accusations".

Le Pen complained to the investigative committee that French banks had not granted her party loans to finance the election. The accusations of financial dependence on Moscow are a diversionary maneuver by Emmanuel Macron, who wanted to hide his own ties to Russia.

Le Pen recalled that the French company Engie was involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. In the televised debate before the presidential election a year ago, Macron accused Le Pen of making herself dependent on Russia. "When you talk about Russia, you're talking about your financier," Macron said at the time, addressing his challenger.

Le Pen: Other parties have also made efforts to help Russia

She was not influenced by any foreign nation, said the 54-year-old right-wing populist. It should be discredited. The nine-million-euro loan was anything but a service of friendship. For example, her party had to pay interest rates of 6.5 percent. The repayment expires in 2028.

Le Pen said her geopolitical ideas had not changed. She is striving for a Europe of nations "from Brest to Vladivostok". For a long time, all parties had sought a rapprochement with Putin. Le Pen recalled Macron's invitation from the head of the Kremlin to the summer residence of French presidents in August 2019.

Le Pen reacted visibly irritated to questions about the loan. The investigative committee was formed at the instigation of her party in order to clear her of the accusation of dependence on the Kremlin. Socialist MEP Philippe Brun, who is a member of the committee, spoke of a "masquerade".

On Wednesday, the chairman of the committee, Le Pen's party colleague Jean-Philippe Tanguy, relinquished the chairmanship and left a member of parliament from Macron's governing alliance in charge. MP Constance Le Grip of the ruling party confronted Le Pen with her repeatedly expressed "admiration for Vladimir Putin". Le Pen countered the accusations by pointing out that Le Grip's former party, the Republicans (LR), had also shown respect for Putin.

The Republicans had also insisted on improving economic ties with Russia and lifting sanctions that discriminated against French farmers. "No, madame, my reaction is not pro-Russian. My reaction is pro-French." The Committee's conclusions are expected to be presented in early June.