French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen on Tuesday said she had no “secret agenda” for France to leave the European Union, even if her attempts to reform the bloc fail.
“There is no secret agenda,” Le Pen told radio France Inter. Asked if she would leave the EU if all her attempts to reform the bloc fail, Le Pen replied: “Not at all.”
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“I think a large majority of French people no longer want the European Union as it exists today, which is a European Union that functions in an absolutely undemocratic way, which advances by threat, by blackmail and which implements policies that are against the interests of the people.”
Le Pen has ditched past plans to haul France out of the EU, its free-movement Schengen zone, and the euro.
However, she remains deeply euro-sceptic. She says she would renegotiate the agreement on Schengen and increase the number of customs agents, re-introducing checks on goods entering the country from other EU states.
She says such a move would be to fight against “fraud” but analysts say it raises questions over friction-free trade within the EU’s single market.
Ultimately, Le Pen envisages the EU as an alliance of member states.
Asked if she would leave the EU if all her attempts to reform the bloc fail, Le Pen replied: “Not at all.”
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