Le Pen criticized Putin's decision regarding Nestlé and Auchan's assets
On September 19, Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally party, criticized Vladimir Putin’s decision to place the assets of European companies in Russia under temporary administration. This specifically concerns Nestlé and the French retail chain Auchan, whose assets are now under the control of a Russian company.
Russia will never dictate to France what to do, nor will it be able to intimidate Paris with its provocations. This was stated by Marine Le Pen, leader of the French right-wing National Rally party, according to Glavkom, citing RTL.
Until now, Le Pen has been known for her pro-Russian stance. Her attitude toward the aggressor country had previously been significantly more favorable than that of most French politicians.
However, on September 19, she harshly criticized the Kremlin after Russian dictator Vladimir Putin ordered the seizure of assets belonging to European companies still operating in Russia, including Nestlé and Auchan.
Le Pen condemned Moscow’s actions and stated that Russia should not “expect to be able to directly or indirectly dictate policy” to France through intimidation, threats, destabilization, or psychological pressure.
“No provocation, no covert operation, and no destabilizing actions will force France to help Russia achieve its military objectives in Ukraine,” the politician emphasized.
Moreover, she called Putin’s new decision a “hostile act” that “directly undermines the interests and rights of French companies.”
Le Pen’s statement also came after French President Emmanuel Macron ordered the government to prepare a plan to protect critical infrastructure from Russian hybrid attacks.
According to the politician, she supports this move given the current situation.
As a reminder, Polish fighter jets intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft that was flying over the Baltic Sea and posed a threat to civil aviation.
Russia, the aggressor state, stated that it would respond with a crushing blow to any hostile actions against it in the Baltic region. This was announced by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova during a weekly briefing.
Russia has strengthened its military presence in the Baltic Sea with the arrival of the modern missile frigate *Admiral Kasatonov*. It is now the second large vessel from the Russian Northern Fleet to be deployed to the region in recent weeks.
