France's Bardella promises tougher EU stance if elected president

Jordan Bardella, the likely presidential candidate of France's most popular party Rassemblement National, has outlined his EU strategy in an interview with Le Point. He pledged that a right-populist France would not leave the EU but would defend national interests more aggressively.

Jordan Bardella, the prospective presidential candidate of France's Rassemblement National (RN) — currently the country's most popular political party — has laid out his vision for France's relationship with the European Union in a wide-ranging interview with French magazine Le Point.

Bardella made clear that under his leadership, France would remain a member of the European Union. However, he stressed that a right-populist government in Paris would take a far more assertive approach to protecting French national interests within EU institutions, signalling a significant shift in the country's traditional European policy.

The RN leader's comments reflect a broader trend among European right-wing populist parties, which have increasingly sought to challenge EU regulations and decision-making processes from within rather than advocating outright exit from the bloc. Bardella appears to be distancing himself from older Eurosceptic positions that once called for a French referendum on EU membership.

The interview adds further substance to Bardella's presidential ambitions ahead of the next French elections. As the leader of the party with the highest polling numbers in France, his statements on European policy are being watched closely both in Paris and in Brussels, where French influence remains central to the functioning of the EU.