Marine Le Pen, leader of the right-wing party “National Rally” in the French Parliament, has called on the European Union to restrict free movement within the Schengen Area for migrants, granting this right only to citizens of Schengen member states.
In her view, the current policy needs to be changed, as it is leading to chaos in Europe, where migrants are being attracted, and then the question arises of how to deal with them. Le Pen emphasized that if one EU country accepts a million migrants, it should be its problem, not a reason to create difficulties for other countries.
Earlier, former French Prime Minister Michel Barnier stated that authorities are struggling to control migration, as more than 150,000 asylum applications are submitted annually, two-thirds of which are rejected. Despite this, tens of thousands of illegal migrants remain in the country, causing issues with law enforcement. Barnier proposed extending the detention of illegal migrants until their deportation and tightening border controls.
Marine Le Pen has also announced her intention to run for president of France again in 2027. Polls show that she is leading in the first round. She has already run for president three times, but in 2012, she lost to François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy, and in 2017 and 2022, she was defeated by Emmanuel Macron in the second round.
