French pivot
That positioning makes outright opposition to an offensive against a fundamentalist Islamist regime that has pledged to destroy Israel politically difficult.
Marine Le Pen, the party’s de facto leader, responded cautiously as the bombs began to fall. While campaigning for local elections on Saturday, she initially limited herself to noting the strikes, waiting until Sunday to issue a formal statement on X expressing solidarity with France’s allies in the region hit by Iranian counterstrikes. “France must meet the moment: alongside its allies and fully mobilized to protect its citizens,” she said.
Notably absent was any condemnation of the unilateral offensive against Iran — a sharp contrast with the forceful language she used after the U.S. operation in Venezuela just a month earlier.
“The sovereignty of states is never negotiable, regardless of their size, power, or continent,” she wrote at the time, in a statement that was widely praised across her party, which traditionally opposes what it sees as American imperialism. “To renounce this principle today for Venezuela, or for any other state, would be to accept our own servitude tomorrow.”
Seemingly aware of the bind, Bardella sought to strike a careful balance, stressing in a press release that any “legitimate and sustainable” regime change must come from the Iranian people. He quickly pivoted to the domestic impact of the conflict, urging the EU and the French government to shield citizens from an expected surge in energy prices.
Chenu on Tuesday sought to explain the apparent contradiction between the party’s stance on the Iran attacks and his party’s previous position on Venezuela.