“A political weather vane”: Bruno Retailleau attacks the RN and Bardella’s “amateurism”

Bruno Retailleau has accused Jordan Bardella and the National Rally of “amateurism” after a series of disputes over foreign policy and migration. The Les Républicains presidential candidate said the party had changed its position on everything and called it “a political weather vane.”

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They have changed their minds about everything.

Retailleau was speaking as the National Rally faced questions about its position on aid to Ukraine and a symbolic anti-migration agreement Bardella signed with Nigel Farage, the British Brexit figure. The agreement included a proposal to return to France migrants intercepted in British waters.

“Appearing with someone who no longer wants Europe is itself a message,” Retailleau said. He questioned whether the National Rally wanted France to leave the European Union or abandon the euro, arguing that its repeated shifts made its intentions unclear.

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A political weather vane.

He described the Farage agreement as the clearest sign of amateurism and accused Bardella of seeking to “turn France into a vast return center for all immigrants.” Retailleau said the party would again run into a “glass ceiling” and presented himself as the candidate of “serious radicalism.” He also appealed directly to National Rally voters to support him in 2027.

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Turn France into a vast return center for all immigrants.

Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon, speaking separately, accused the National Rally of promoting “extremely radical far-right ideas.” She said that outsourcing England’s migration problems to France was what Bardella was proposing, adding that she was not sure National Rally voters shared that view.

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Extremely radical far-right ideas.