Marine Le Pen didn’t mince words during her recent stop in the Eternal City. Flanked by Italian firebrand Matteo Salvini, the French opposition leader let loose on what she described as a creeping authoritarianism from Brussels, accusing the European Union’s power brokers of rigging the game against sovereignist voices.
Le Pen, fresh off a controversial conviction that bars her from running in France’s next presidential election, called the ruling a “democratic scandal.” Speaking to Corriere Della Sera, she put it bluntly: “There are places with no elections — and others where candidates are just blocked from running. That’s where we are.”
With her political future hanging in limbo despite an ongoing appeal, Le Pen suggested her case isn’t an outlier — it’s part of a pattern. She compared her situation to the legal pressure on Salvini, EU meddling in Romania, and the long-standing Brussels vendetta against Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. “The EU’s tolerance for dissent is skin-deep. When the people vote the ‘wrong’ way, the bureaucracy fights back — hard.”
During a joint appearance with Salvini at the League’s School of Political Formation, Le Pen reinforced the bond between their two nationalist camps. “Matteo is more than a colleague — he’s a friend, a fighter, and someone who shares my vision,” she said. Both leaders blasted the EU’s growing push for centralized military authority through the Readiness 2030 plan, warning that the project is a stealth move to gut national sovereignty under the guise of collective defense.
Le Pen didn’t hold back on the EU’s approach to Ukraine, either. While leaders like Emmanuel Macron cozy up to Kyiv under the banner of peace, she suspects their true aim may be to inflame, not calm, the conflict. “Macron’s playing soldier,” she quipped. “But France should be a mediator — not a cheerleader for escalation.”
Despite her differences with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, particularly Meloni’s backing of Ursula von der Leyen, Le Pen left the door open for future unity on the nationalist front. “We already vote together more often than not,” she noted, hinting that a single, stronger bloc could reshape the European Parliament.
Still, she drew a hard line against the traditional Franco-German partnership that’s long dominated the EU stage. “That’s Macron’s game,” she said. “Germany’s always been out for itself. What Europe needs now is fair rules for everyone — not backroom deals between Paris and Berlin.”
As the nationalist wave builds ahead of key EU elections, Le Pen’s Rome remarks send a clear message: the populist pushback isn’t over. If anything, it’s just getting started.
