PARIS — No matter how badly France's impending snap parliamentary election goes for him, Emmanuel Macron was always meant to have the consolation that he would remain president until 2027 — with all the sacrosanct foreign policy and military powers that entails.

But his far-right adversary Marine Le Pen is signaling that, if her National Rally party wins the prime minister's role, she won't be content to let Macron chart the nation's strategic course through the president's prerogative, which would traditionally cover hot-button topics such as Ukraine, defense, diplomacy and choosing an EU commissioner.

This tussle over core competencies is firing furious debate within France and will strike terror into France's partners in the EU and NATO about what looks likely to be a period of instability in the nuclear-armed nation of 68 million people. Assumptions from Washington to the Indo-Pacific that the president's powers would simply be unchecked on the international stage after the election could prove ill founded.

France has been through periods of cohabitation before — when the president and prime minister hail from different parties — but this always involved fairly straightforward collaboration between parties with similar world views. This time around, a far-right prime minister — potentially Jordan Bardella from the National Rally, which is ahead in polls — would convulse the political order.

On Wednesday, Le Pen gave the clearest indication yet she is hell-bent on clawing whatever shred of power she could get from the president if her party secured a strong enough majority in the parliamentary election.

In explosive remarks, Le Pen dismissed the French president's title of commander-in-chief as "an honorary title," and argued the real power, in particular over the budget, rested with the prime minister's government.

"Jordan [Bardella] has no intention of picking a quarrel with Macron, but he has set red lines. On Ukraine, the president will not be able to send troops,” Le Pen said in an interview with the daily Le Télégramme.

Macron said earlier this month he was "finalizing" plans to send military trainers to Ukraine, and tensions over relations with Russia are likely to be front and center in the debate over France's strategic direction.

While Macron has increasingly recast himself as a defender of Ukraine — promising fighter jets to Kyiv earlier this month — Le Pen has a long track record of political flirtation with the Kremlin, with Macron even directly accusing her of being on the Russian payroll.

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — When Hungary takes over the helm of the European Union on July 1, many politicians in Brussels will have the same thing on their minds: whether populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will use the role to further his reputation as the bloc’s main spoiler.

Orbán in recent years has seemed to relish opportunities to block, water down or delay key EU decisions, routinely going against the grain of most other leaders on issues like the war in Ukraine, relations with Russia and China, and efforts to defend democracy and the rule of law.

His public opposition to EU policies and stances has long frustrated his partners in the bloc and pushed him to the margins of the continent’s mainstream. Hungary’s motto for its presidency — Make Europe Great Again — raised eyebrows for its resemblance to the famous tagline of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

PARIS — French voters appeared to have boosted the prospects of the far right while potentially shattering the centrist alliance of President Emmanuel Macron, according to projections released after polls closed in the first round of French legislative elections on Sunday.

Projections by France’s public broadcaster showed the far-right National Rally, guided by Marine Le Pen and her protégé, Jordan Bardella, comfortably securing the top spot with 33 percent of the national vote. An alliance of leftist parties, the New Popular Front, was in second, projected to garner 28 percent. Macron’s Together alliance lagged behind, with 21 percent.

The projections showed National Rally narrowly falling short of a majority of seats. If it can expand its lead in the second round of voting on July 7, it could form the country’s first far-right government since World War II, with 28-year-old Bardella as prime minister, and replace Macron’s pro-Europe, pro-business agenda with its populist, euroskeptic and anti-immigration platform.

Alternatively, a second-round result that doesn’t produce a clear majority could paralyze French politics.


Macron could stay on as president until his term expires in 2027 — and he has said he will not resign. But he wouldn’t be able to do much to prevent the adoption of laws passed by a far-right majority or enact new policies in the case of a hung parliament.

Sunday’s projected results are likely to cause alarm in many European capitals. France is one of the European Union’s original members, its second largest economy and a driving force in E.U. affairs. The National Rally party no longer advocates leaving the bloc, but many of its proposals are out of step with E.U. policies.


Another concern is whether the French far right might undermine Europe’s support for Ukraine and its stance on Russia. Le Pen is already challenging Macron’s hold on French foreign policy and defense, suggesting the president play a more honorary role as commander in chief of the armed forces.

A hung parliament in France could unsettle European politics. France looks like it is heading for “deadlock and confusion with an irreconcilably blocked National Assembly,” said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at the Eurasia Group, a political risk consulting firm. “This spells bad news for France, the E.U. and Ukraine.”

NATO Preparing 'Trump-Proof' Plan B for Ukraine: Report

Published Jul 02, 2024 at 7:28 AM EDT

The NATO alliance is planning new measures to protect its campaign of support for Ukraine, according to a new report, as fears grow that a second White House term for Donald Trump will hinder collective efforts to defeat and deter Russia.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday—citing unnamed U.S. and allied officials—that this month's NATO summit in Washington D.C. will see several new measures announced in a bid to shore up the Western bloc amid political turbulence in Europe and the U.S.

The plans have reportedly been in progress for several months, but are now being accelerated following President Joe Biden's poor performance in the first presidential debate last week.

Newsweek cannot independently verify the WSJ report and has contacted NATO via email to request comment.

Among the reported measures will be the stationing of a new senior civilian official in Kyiv and the establishment of a new military command in the western German city of Wiesbaden to coordinate military aid and training for Ukrainian forces.


The new command will be called "NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine," and will be staffed by around 700 American and allied personnel drawn from all 32 member states. The organization will reportedly take on much of the work of equipping Ukraine that has thus far been dominated by the Pentagon via the Ramstein format—officially the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

This is a year of pivotal elections, both in Europe and in the U.S. In June, NATO- and European Union-skeptic far-right parties in Europe have won big at the European Parliament elections, raising concerns about the rightward-slide of electorates in Germany, France, and other key NATO states.
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In France, the resounding defeat of President Emmanuel Macron's party at the EUlevel prompted the internationalist leader to call snap domestic parliamentary elections, which may see the National Rally (RN) party form the country's first ever far-right government.

RN's 2022 electoral manifesto—sections of which were deleted from the party's website in June—suggested that the U.S. "does not always behave as an ally to France," and proposed to seek "an alliance with Russia on certain issues," including European security and combating terrorism.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday arrived in Kyiv, where he is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky amid tensions between the two European leaders over Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Orban, a key ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Europe, is making his first visit to Ukraine since Russia invaded in early 2022. He will focus his conversation with Zelensky on making peace, according to the Hungarian leader’s spokesperson, along with issues in the relationship between Budapest and Kyiv. The meeting comes after Hungary assumed the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Orban has been critical of supporting Ukraine, though it’s unclear how much he will seek to thwart regional efforts as head of the bloc.

Orban talked with Zelensky at the inauguration of Argentine President Javier Milei in December, hinting around that time he would be open to a more formal meeting.

Along with tension over the war with Russia, Orban has accused Kyiv of infringing on the rights of Hungarian minorities in the western part of Ukraine.

Orban is the only European leader to have met with Russian President Vladimir Putin since he invaded Ukraine, along with Austria Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who traveled to Moscow in the spring of 2022 just after the war started to warn the Kremlin against continuing the invasion.

Orban, however, has been much more sympathetic to Putin and faced condemnation for his visit to Russia last year.

Hungary is considered the closest ally in the Europe for Russia. Orban has moved to delay the accession of countries into NATO and block or delay aid packages to Ukraine through the European Union.

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The active Russia-Ukraine front line has recently expanded as intense fighting continues in the areas of Pokrovsk and Toretsk, Ukraine's Chief Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on July 2.

He added that the intensity of fighting in other segments of the front line has recently decreased.

The Toretsk sector in Donetsk Oblast has become another hotspot in recent weeks, the general said. Fierce fighting of different intensity is also ongoing in the Kurakhove, Vremivka, Kramatorsk and Kharkiv sectors, according to Syrskyi.

Moscow's troops have increased their attacks near the town of Toretsk in June after a "long lull" in fighting in the area. Russia carried out 17 attacks in this direction, Ukraine's General staff said in its latest update on July 2.

The situation in the Pokrovsk sector is difficult, according to Syrskyi. Russia wants to break through Ukraine's defenses and has rotated strike units, removing the units "whose assault forces have completely lost their combat capability," Syrskyi said.

"Despite the reinforcement of our units with reserves, this area requires constant attention and additional ammunition and firepower," he added.

The key problem for Ukrainian commanders are "manning units with motivated, well-trained military," Syrskyi said, as well as providing soldiers with modern electronic warfare and air defense equipment capable of effectively countering Russian drones.

"We have an advantage in the number and quality of combat copters, primarily bombers and FPV drones, and the skill of the operators who use them. This is the key to our success and the safety of our soldiers," Syrskyi said.