Marine Le Pen, the French leader of the far-right National Ragrupation party
After, in the first days of the war, supporting the American and Israeli attacks against Iran, the French far-right leader is now harshly criticizing the American president, at a time when the war in the Middle East triggers a spiraling energy crisis.
In an interview with the French daily, this Tuesday, the leader of the National Regroupment (RN), Marine Le Penstates that the attacks on Iran “were led blindly”, in a fierce criticism of the US’ lack of preparation to deal with the turmoil in the Middle East.
The far-right French party has harshly criticized US President Donald Trump, the French Government and the big oil companies, accusing them, in different ways, of having provoked and are making a profit with the sharp rise in energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East.
The RN has defended a reduction of fuel taxes and the urgent imposition of market control mechanisms to protect consumers from this worsening crisis, notes the .
This is a visible reinforcement of the political agenda of the Gatheringvery focused on cost of livingwhich made him a favorite for next year’s presidential elections, under the leadership of Marine Le Pen.
“Donald Trump manifestly did not fully assess the impact of its intervention in Iran. In fact, it is becoming clear that very little preparation was made”, says Le Pen in the interview with Le Parisien.
“Therefore, we consider that these attacks were led blindly”, he added, pointing out the “catastrophic consequences” of the war on fuel prices.
After, in the first days of the war, supporting the US and Israeli attacks against Iran, Le Pen had already criticized Trump, in an interview with France Inter radio last week, for his “erratic war aims” and for the “mistake of attacking Iran”.
Trump sought to get closer to Le Pen and the National Regroupment after the start of his second term in January 2025, but the French party increasingly considered that the connection with the White House is harmful to himin a country where Trump remains generally unpopular.
In recent days, the main leaders of the RN have also criticized the French Government for prioritize tax revenues over oil to the detriment of consumers’ interests and for not doing enough to protect the population.
Jean-Philippe Tanguyone of the party’s leading figures, called a press conference on Tuesday to highlight the measures proposed by the National Regroupment, including cuts in energy taxes.
Tanguy also proposed “the creation of a temporary margin control profit to ensure that oil companies, distributors and all other players in the oil sector do not take advantage of these tax reductions”.
Tanguy also criticized the French Government for having released part of the reserves France’s oil strategies for avoid a supply disruptionin a coordinated measure with other G7 countries.
French strategic reserves are managed “in practice in alignment with the best interests of oil companies”, said Tanguy.
The defense of cuts in energy taxes and market control measures reflects the long-standing party strategy to present himself as the defender of the working classes.
But the budgetary cost of his proposals and the attacks on oil companies could tarnish your credibility on economic issues and with the business community, trust that will be crucial to winning over more centrist voters in the 2027 presidential elections.
Tanguy’s offensive comes after Le Pen accused, last week, the Government of “behaving like a profiteer in times of crisis”, referring to the increase in tax revenues associated with rising oil prices.
The Government rejected tax cutsclaiming that they would worsen France’s already exorbitant budget deficit. Forecasts point to the country spending, in 2026, the equivalent of around 5% of GDP above its revenues.
