French presidential candidate reveals stance on Russia sanctions

France should work towards improving its ties with Russia by removing sanctions and pivoting away from American influence, a candidate in the country’s presidential race has declared, as tensions flare across eastern Europe.

Speaking as part of an interview with the France 5 television channel on Sunday, Eric Zemmour proposed that if he were elected to the top job, “there would be no more sanctions against Russia.” He also suggested that the state could show “friendly signals” by lifting punitive measures.

The presidential candidate, known for his far-right and nationalist views, added that Paris should be “friends with Russia” and should stop “being a tool of the United States.” According to him, Washington tries to pit European countries against Moscow.

“The US is trying to divide Russia from France and Germany, and every time they get closer to each other, the Americans find a way to divide them,” he said.

Zemmour’s remarks come shortly after France’s current leader, Emmanuel Macron, marked the start of his country’s presidency of the EU by calling for the building of a new rules-based “European order,” free of threats, coercion, and spheres of influence.

“Both for us and for Russia, for the sake of the security of our continent which is indivisible, we need this dialogue,” Macron said last week, adding that it should be “frank and demanding … in the face of destabilization, interference and manipulation.”

Tensions have been growing between Moscow and Western countries in recent weeks, with a handful of leaders and media outlets alleging that Russia’s armed forces are amassing at its shared border with Ukraine ahead of staging an invasion, which the Kremlin has repeatedly denied.

Speaking last Thursday at a press conference, US President Joe Biden threatened to impose unprecedented embargoes on Moscow should its troops launch an offensive. “This is not all just a cakewalk for Russia. Militarily, they have overwhelming superiority relative to Ukraine, but they’ll pay a severe price,” he said.

The journalist and essayist, who is a new face in France’s right-wing political scene, was fined $11,400 (€10,000) earlier this month for inciting hatred against migrants in remarks he made on TV in September 2020.

While speaking about unaccompanied minors entering the country, the journalist said: “They’ve got no reason being here; they are thieves, they are killers, they are rapists, that’s all they do, they should be sent back.”

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