Μake us preferred on Google The far-left France Unbowed party of presidential hopeful Jean-Luc Mélenchon has made leaving NATO and nationalizing key defense companies part of its official election platform, released on Friday.
The 222-page program calls for France to pull out of NATO’s integrated command immediately and then gradually withdraw from the alliance altogether. It also rejects the US demand that allies spend 5% of GDP on defense, describing it as a “tribute.”
Even so, the document states that a France led by Mélenchon would continue to come to the aid of other European Union countries under EU treaties, a position the far-left leader had previously outlined to POLITICO.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of French far-left opposition party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed – LFI) and candidate for the 2027 French presidential election, LFI member of parliament Manuel Bompard and LFI politicians attend an authorised demonstration organised by labour unions in Paris as part of nationwide protests called by the “Yellow Vests” movement joined by French high school and university students against the cost of living and rising fuel prices, in France, October 24, 2026. The banner reads “With the youth, against the high cost of living.” REUTERS/Abdul Saboor
A Possible Runoff Against the Far Right
A growing number of polls place Mélenchon second in next year’s high-stakes election to succeed President Emmanuel Macron. Since the top two candidates advance to a runoff, he could end up facing far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who has also pledged to take France out of NATO’s integrated command.
On Ukraine, France Unbowed differs from Le Pen’s party in that it does not explicitly call for ending aid to Kyiv. It does, however, stress the need for a diplomatic solution to the war, arguing that any peace deal must rest on collective security guarantees involving both the warring parties and the rest of Europe.
The party also wants tighter arms control, including over lethal autonomous weapons and nuclear weapons.
A Focus on Space
Space policy features prominently in the platform, an area few other French parties pay much attention to. France Unbowed opposes what it calls a “space arms race” and pledges to close NATO’s space center in Toulouse, while insisting that France must have the means to protect its sovereignty.
The program says France should acquire its own space shuttle. Party lawmakers have previously pushed for the country to buy Vortex, a reusable orbital spaceplane being developed by French aerospace manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
Building Independent Capabilities
More broadly, the party wants France to invest more in so-called critical enablers, military capabilities such as communications, intelligence and logistics that are currently supplied mainly by the United States through NATO. The platform says these should be produced as a priority.
France Unbowed also plans to nationalize some of the country’s largest defense companies, including ArianeGroup.
A France Unbowed lawmaker told POLITICO that a more detailed defense program will be released at a later date.
Source: Politico
