France’s foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot has sharply criticised far-right leader Marine Le Pen over her position on Ukraine, saying that any move to end French support for Kyiv would amount to capitulation to Russian President Vladimir Putin and would weaken Europe’s security.
Barrot made the remarks in a post on X, responding to Le Pen’s comments in Brussels, where she said that if elected president, she would end France’s support for Ukraine.
“Marine Le Pen appears in Brussels alongside anti-European leaders and announces that, if elected, she would put an end to France’s support for Ukraine,” Barrot wrote.
He argued that politicians calling for an end to assistance for Kyiv were effectively advancing the Kremlin’s goals.
“Like her, pseudo-patriots here and elsewhere are rushing to capitulate before Vladimir Putin, who seeks to intimidate Europe, divide us and weaken us,” Barrot said.
According to the French foreign minister, abandoning Ukraine would not bring peace, but instead increase the risk of war moving closer to Europe’s borders.
“This is the surest way to see war move closer to our borders,” he said.
Barrot also stressed that continued support for Ukraine was in France’s national interest.
“Those who sincerely want peace and freedom support Ukraine. The true defenders of France’s interests support Ukraine. And we will continue to do so, because helping Ukraine means helping France,” he added.
Le Pen, one of the leading figures of the far-right National Rally party, said during a visit to Brussels that France could no longer afford to continue financing Ukraine, citing the country’s economic and budgetary constraints.
Her remarks came amid a wider European debate over long-term support for Kyiv and ahead of France’s 2027 presidential election campaign, where foreign policy, EU relations and aid to Ukraine are likely to become key political battlegrounds.
Barrot’s comments underline the increasingly sharp divide in French politics over the war in Ukraine, with the government presenting continued backing for Kyiv as both a strategic necessity for Europe and a matter of French national security.