In this exclusive interview granted to Entrevue, Florian Philippot, former vice-president of the National Rally (RN) and current president of the Patriots, looks directly at his political career, his convictions and his current struggles. From his harsh criticisms against the RN which, according to him, has become “a crypto-macronist movement” to his strong opinions on the sovereignty of France, Philippot spares no subject. Now head of the list of the Les Patriotes party in the European elections, he discusses his position regarding the management of the health crisis, his commitment to Frexit and his vision of a France independent of large supranational organizations like NATO and the 'European Union.
Interview: Do you sometimes regret the time you were at the RN?
Florian Philippot: Given what the RN has become, no. Today, it is a crypto-macronist movement. I am a consistent sovereignist and I left the RN when it abandoned the exit from the European Union and in the meantime, they abandoned everything: the exit from the common market, the exit from NATO, the exit from Schengen…
Do you still have contact with Marine Le Pen ?
No None. I sometimes have a few executives who tell me what is happening internally at the RN, without me even asking them.
What is happening internally at the RN?
A war between Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella.
Are you aware that you are perceived as a conspirator?
I believe that given what we have experienced since COVID, we must take it as a medal. Generally, when you're right six months too soon, you're a conspirator. The months that pass then prove that you are right and that it is reality. When I talked about the health pass before it existed, I was told that I was a conspiracy theorist. It's a word that we invented to avoid debating on the merits.
You have organized many demonstrations to denounce what you call “the health dictatorship” during COVID. Do you really think that France is a health dictatorship?
No, I think that France is simply a dictatorship. There is no longer democracy, demonstrations are repressed, freedom of expression is in decline, there are European regulations to censor the networks, media which are closed like RT France without any legal notion. There is no longer fair media access, as if there were only 6 or 7 candidate lists in these European elections.
You are for leaving the European Union, but are you also for leaving NATO?
Obviously ! I am for the exit of all supranational organizations. As soon as France no longer has the measure of its destiny, we must leave: the WHO, the ECHR, etc. These structures go against the interests of France and decide for us.
Today is the last day of the European campaign. You were credited between 0,5% and 1,5% in polls throughout the campaign. Do you really believe in your chances of getting MEPs elected?
Yes, because it is a one-round proportional election. People vote for their beliefs. If they believe in their beliefs, they will vote. In 2021, I was credited with 1% in the regional polls in the Grand Est and finally, I made 7%. I believe this is what will happen on Sunday.
Isn't it paradoxical to want to leave the EU but to be a candidate for the European elections?
No way. Today, more than a third of French people are in favor of leaving the European Union. It would be undemocratic if they had no choice. I know Nigel Farage, Mr. Brexit, very well. I want to apply his technique exactly. He had used the European Parliament as a sounding board. By being there, he was able to bring out information that we did not have and impose Brexit. We can use these instances against them.
Why don't you make an alliance with other frexiters, like François Asselineau?
We make alliances with everyone who wants it. We have one with VIA by Jean-Frédéric Poisson, Génération Frexit, the Aristotle Circle. We have alongside us personalities like Marc Doyer, Myriam Palomba, etc. We are having a great gathering with those who want it. As for Mr. Asselineau's UPR, we had consulted our members who were in favor of an alliance, but the members of the UPR were not even consulted. They would certainly have said yes to an alliance with us. But François Asselineau obviously does not want an alliance.
A few weeks ago, François Asselineau declared in the columns of Entrevue that you stole all his analyzes to take them over for yourself. Is it true ?
The sin of pride can be politically fatal. In 2005, I participated in a televised debate when I was a student and had a blog called "Leave the Euro." I have always been committed to the sovereigntist cause; I didn't wait for Asselineau to defend my convictions. These accusations are ludicrous, but I don't want to get into a polemic because I believe it's a waste of time. We need to focus on the system. Macron-European Union.
Do you have hope that France will actually leave the EU one day? Do the French want to get out?
Yes, if there was a real equal debate between those who want to stay and those who want to leave, I am sure that FREXIT would win.
What is your position on the Ukrainian-Russian conflict?
From the start, I have been pro-French and pro-peace. We must not send a euro or a weapon to Ukraine. This is ruining us and we need our weapons. I am for the immediate opening of peace negotiations. France and Germany did not enforce the Minsk agreements, which were peace agreements. The only solution is to open peace negotiations, stop sanctions against Russia and talk with it, while stopping sending weapons to Ukraine. I am very frightened by the headlong rush of the European Union and Emmanuel Macron, who is now considering sending troops to Ukraine.
On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, what is your position since the Hamas attack on October 7?
I am a Gaullist and I am completely in agreement with the position expressed by Dominique de Villepin in the public debate. France must recall the two-state political solution and demand a ceasefire that will allow the release of the hostages. We can be horrified by what happened on October 7 and at the same time put it in a historical perspective which shows that the problem is older. We cannot mistreat a population like that of Gaza indefinitely, because this will only lead to more terrorism and deaths in the region. No one will come out a winner. France must come out of alignment with Washington and remember this. This is normally the Gaullist and traditional position of France.
Isn't France losing its international influence?
France completely loses its international influence, because a colony has no diplomacy. France is a colony of a Euro-Atlantic empire. Florida has no diplomacy, but today we are the equivalent of that: a federated state. We do not want to understand the new world with new powers like BRICS. We should dialogue with these powers. Our voice is completely silenced today because we are a colony of Brussels and Washington. Emmanuel Macron is grotesque and he appointed a Minister of Foreign Affairs who struggles to speak French.
Besides Frexit, the health dictatorship, leaving NATO… What do you propose?
France must reindustrialize, protect our agriculture and our borders in the face of gigantic migratory challenges. But none of this is possible while remaining in the European Union.
There is a big debate in society at the moment, GPA. What is your position ?
I am against GPA. I think it’s a commodification of women’s bodies. It's in the ultra-capitalist zeitgeist, but from the point of view of values, it's a real problem.
What is your vision of education in France and how do you propose to improve the education system?
I am the son of public school teachers, this is a subject that has been close to my heart for a long time. We must first raise the level of knowledge and requirements at school. We wanted to be demagogy with the student at the center and the teacher on the sidelines, tablets everywhere... And everyone is coming back from all this. Instruction should be vertical with the teacher at the center. You must devote 50% of the learning time to the French language, remove the digital and put back the notebook and pen. Finally, restore order in the classes: respect, the Marseillaise, the uniform. Children must be taught again that they belong to a nation.
How do you analyze the explosion of insecurity in France?
This is very worrying. There is a feeling of gratuitous and savage violence. It's a real subject. There is an underlying trend of a very violent society because it no longer has any reference points. Among these benchmarks, there is school, the empowerment of parents and families... But this must come from above. The government must speak the right way and pursue the right policies. There is also a migration question. For example, the Afghan who killed Mathis a few weeks ago had no business in France. But everything brings us back to the same problem: the European Union which prohibits the expulsion of Afghans. We must take this subject seriously, leave the European Union, Schengen and the ECHR, to expel and welcome whoever we want, and a good part of the migration problem will be resolved.
Do you subscribe to the thesis of the great replacement?
I don't need to use words like that to talk about immigration. There is too much immigration today, too many people to deport from France. Those who use grand expressions mask their total inaction. This is the case with Meloni, the RN, Reconquête, etc. They say "great replacement" and "reimmigration" like campaign slogans, but will remain in the European Union and pursue the same policies as Macron. We saw it with Giorgia Meloni in Italy.
Comments collected by Radouan Kourak
