NICE, France (AP) 鈥 With just three days to go until France's landmark legislative elections, the country鈥檚 far-right leader on Thursday raised the uncomfortable question of who would be in charge of the military if her party takes over the government after the two-round balloting 鈥 prompting an angry reaction from President Emmanuel Macron.
The early elections are plunging France into uncharted territory, and political scientists are scrambling to interpret how exactly Macron and a prime minister who is hostile to most of his policies would share power if Marine Le Pen's 春色直播 Rally wins the majority in the 春色直播 Assembly, France's lower house of parliament.
鈥淲hat arrogance!鈥 Macron commented, speaking at the end of an EU summit in Brussels early Friday morning.
Far-right politicians speak 鈥渁s if they were already there鈥 at the government, he said. 鈥淏ut the French haven鈥檛 chosen yet.鈥
鈥淲ho are they to explain what the Constitution should be? Who are they?鈥 he added, with anger in the voice.
鈥淚 think we must respect the French who will have to express themselves. That鈥檚 what I wanted,鈥 Macron said.
Le Pen has repeatedly said that , would head France's next government if their increasingly popular party wins. She suggested in an interview that Bardella, at just 28 and with no governing experience, would also take over at least some decisions on France's defense and its armed forces. Macron has three years to serve out his final term as president.
Serving as a commander-in-chief of the armed forces 鈥渋s an honorary title for the president since it's the prime minister who actually pulls the strings,鈥 Le Pen said in an interview with Le T茅l茅gramme newspaper published Thursday.
During a debate broadcasted on national TV on Thursday evening, Bardella appeared reluctant to answer repeated questions asking him to explain Le Pen鈥檚 statement.
鈥淐onstitution, all the Constitution and nothing but the Constitution,鈥 Bardella said. 鈥淭he president is the head of the armed forces, but it is the prime minister who determines, for example, the budget of these armed forces.鈥
When pressed for more details about the exact responsibilities of the French president on military issues, Bardella sought to change the topic, reiterating instead his position on the .
The French Constitution states that 鈥渢he President of the Republic is the head of the armed forces" and also 鈥渃hairs the councils and higher committees of national defense." However, the Constitution also states that 鈥渢he prime minister is responsible for national defense.鈥
Constitutional experts say the exact role of prime minister in foreign policy and defense appears to be subject to interpretation. That's a question with potentially global fallout: France has nuclear weapons and its troops and military personnel have been deployed in many conflict zones around the world.
The last time France had a prime minister and a president from different parties, they broadly agreed on strategic matters of defense and foreign policy. But this time the power-sharing concept known in France as "cohabitation" could be very different, given the animosity between far-right and the far-left politicians. Both blocs appear to deeply resent the business-friendly, centrist president.
On the issue of the country's military command, political historian Jean Garrigues said that 鈥渢he president is the head of the armed forces, (but) it's the prime minister who has the armed forces at his disposal."
In practice, he said this means that 鈥渋f the president decided to send troops on the ground to Ukraine ... the prime minister would be able to block this decision.鈥
In March, Macron warned Western powers against showing any signs of weakness to Russia and said Ukraine鈥檚 allies shouldn鈥檛 rule out to help the country against Russia鈥檚 aggression.
Le Pen is confident that her party, which has a history of , will be able to translate its earlier this month into a victory in France.
Left-wing groups and antiracism and feminist activists rallied in Paris on Thursday to urge voters to keep the anti-immigration 春色直播ly Rally from coming out on top.
The first round will take place on Sunday. The decisive second round is scheduled a week later, on July 7. The outcome remains uncertain because of a complex voting system and potential alliances.
Le Pen said Bardella, if named prime minister, would aim to be firm but not hostile to the serving president.
鈥淛ordan has no intention of picking a fight with (Macron), but he has set red lines,鈥 Le Pen said. She added: 鈥淥n Ukraine, the president will not be able to send troops.鈥
Le Pen's argument that France鈥檚 highest office is essentially ceremonial puzzled some French observers, given her own presidential ambitions.
鈥淚f she鈥檚 trying to achieve the presidency, it sort of doesn鈥檛 make very much sense for her to appear to be wanting to cut down the president to a much smaller size in the field of defense,鈥 said Fran莽ois Heisbourg, an analyst on defense and security questions at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
鈥淎nd I think many French people will have great trouble understanding why she appears to want to unravel the institutions,'' he said.
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Associated Press reporters Diane Jeantet in Paris and John Leicester in Le Pecq, France, contributed to this report. Corbet wrote from Brussels.
