HELSINGBORG, SWEDEN — Far-right French leader Marine Le Pen said Friday she would remove France from NATO’s integrated military command if elected president, asserting that the move is necessary to protect French sovereignty while maintaining Paris’s membership in the alliance.
Speaking to BFM TV as NATO ministers gathered in Sweden, Le Pen repeated her long-standing argument that participation in the command structure compromises national independence. “We have to withdraw from NATO’s integrated command. We should remain in NATO, but leaving the command does not prevent interoperability with allied forces,” she said, accusing Europe of excessive reliance on U.S. decisions.
Le Pen also criticised what she described as dependence on U.S. leadership, singling out President Donald Trump. Her National Rally party currently leads opinion polls roughly a year before France’s 2027 presidential vote, although her ability to run depends on an appeals court decision later this year.
France’s NATO integrated command functions as the alliance’s permanent system to ensure the 32 member states’ forces can operate together rapidly. The proposal to exit that command drew an immediate rebuke from French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who called such calls “unreasonable and wholly irresponsible” upon arrival at the NATO meeting.
“With Washington reviewing its level of engagement in Europe, it is more important than ever for France and its partners to assert their vision, develop their capabilities, in short, to Europeanise NATO,” Barrot said, warning that some allies facing continual Russian pressure would view withdrawal as a betrayal.
Debate over NATO membership and command arrangements has deep roots in French politics. The country has long prized “strategic autonomy,” a theme reiterated by President Emmanuel Macron, who has urged Europe to lessen its dependence on the United States for defence. In 1966, President Charles de Gaulle withdrew France from NATO’s integrated command; that decision was reversed in 2009 under Nicolas Sarkozy.
National Rally’s leader Jordan Bardella has adopted a more cautious line than Le Pen, saying in March he would not remove France from the command structure during wartime. Diplomats say any move by Paris to distance itself from NATO’s command would be closely watched by capitals already uncertain about Washington’s long-term commitment to European security.
Despite the controversy, France’s lower house approved measures this week supported by most political groups, including National Rally, to boost defence spending, reflecting a wider push to strengthen the military as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues.