French far-right leader Le Pen questions president’s role as army chief ahead of parliament election

NICE, France (AP) — With just three days to go until France’s landmark legislative election, the country’s far-right leader on Thursday raised the question of who would be in charge of the military if her party takes over the government after the two-round balloting.

The early elections are plunging France into uncharted territory, and political scientists are scrambling to interpret how exactly President Emmanuel Macron and a prime minister who is hostile to most of his policies will share power if Marine Le Pen’s National Rally wins the majority in the National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament.

Le Pen has repeatedly said that Jordan Bardella, her protegee and her party’s star leader, will lead France’s next government if their party wins. She suggested in an interview that Bardella, 28, will also take over at least some decisions on France’s defence and its armed forces. Macron has three years to serve out his final term as president.

Serving as a commander-in-chief of the armed forces “is an honorary title for the president since it’s the prime minister who actually pulls the strings,” Le Pen said in an interview with Le Télégramme newspaper published Thursday.

The French Constitution states that “the President of the Republic is the head of the armed forces” and that the head of state also “chairs the councils and higher committees of national defense.” However, the Constitution also states that “the prime minister is responsible for national defense.”

Constitutional experts say the exact role of prime minister in foreign policy and defense appears to be subject to interpretation.

France has nuclear weapons and its troops and military personnel have been deployed in many conflict zones around the world.

The last time France had a prime minister and a president from different parties, they broadly agreed on strategic matters of defense and foreign policy. But this time the power sharing concept known in France as “cohabitation” could be very different given the animosity between the far-right and the far-left politicians. Both blocs appear to deeply resent the business-friendly, centrist president.

On the issue of the country’s military command, political historian Jean Garrigues said that “the president is the head of the armed forces, (but) it’s the prime minister who has the armed forces at his disposal.”

In practice, he said this means that “if the president decided to send troops on the ground to Ukraine ... the prime minister would be able to block this decision.”

In March, Macron warned Western powers against showing any signs of weakness to Russia and said Ukraine’s allies shouldn’t rule out sending Western troops into Ukraine to help the country against Russia’s aggression.

Le Pen is confident that her party, which has a history of racism and xenophobia, will be able to translate its stunning triumph at the elections for the European Parliament earlier this month into a victory at the upcoming legislative two-round vote in France.

The first round will take place on Sunday. The decisive second round is scheduled a week later, on July 7.

Polls show that the outcome of the early election remains uncertain amid a complex voting system and potential alliances. Macron is aligned against both the National Rally and the New Popular Front, a coalition of far- to center-left parties that includes France Unbowed of Jean Luc Melenchon.

If the National Rally gets the mandate from a majority of voters to form a new government, Le Pen said Bardella, who has no experience in governance, will aim to be firm but not hostile to the serving president.

“Jordan has no intention of picking a fight with (Macron), but he has set red lines,” Le Pen said. She added: “On Ukraine, the president will not be able to send troops.”

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Associated Press correspondent Sylvie Corbet in Brussels contributed to this report.