"I am fundamentally against a European army. I believe that the army is an element of the nation's sovereignty. There is no such a thing as European sovereignty. Europe is not a nation, not people. And I want it to be more of a platform for European cooperation, a European alliance. A pan-European army should not appear in any case," Le Pen said.
She underlined that Macron's rhetoric about alleged cyber threats coming from Russia, China and the United States looked bellicose and was misguided since only "Islamic fundamentalism" posed threat to France at present.
READ MORE: Angry with Trump, Macron Calls for European Army: Real or Theater?
Prior to that, in early November, Macron called for the establishment of an EU army that would be independent of the United States, stressing that France had recently faced multiple attempts by outside forces to meddle in its domestic affairs and cybersecurity. On Friday, US President Donald Trump slammed Macron's initiative, calling it "insulting," and also insisted that Europe should fulfil its financial obligations within NATO.
Macron's Foreign Policy Risks Isolating France on Global Stage
The lawmaker went on pointing to the weak spots in the foreign policy of French President Emmanuel Macron, arguing that the country's current external policy was pushing France into self-isolation on the international scene.
"First of all, Mr Macron is criticizing everyone. He is pursuing a foreign policy which is limited to threatening and insulting his European colleagues… The reality is that the world of Mr Macron is falling apart, he is finding himself extremely isolated on the global stage," Le Pen stated.
READ MORE: Trump Launches Massive Twitter Crusade Against Macron Amid EU Army Row
Le Pen, who was beaten by Macron in the 2017 presidential runoff by over 30 percentage points, has slammed her opponent on numerous occasions for his failures both domestically and internationally. In October, Le Pen alluded to the classic The Emperor's New Clothes tale when speaking about her former rival, saying that instead of the professionalism and expertise of presidential candidate Macron, France was currently forced to deal with the "amateurism" and "improvisation" of President Macron.
Signing Global Compact on Migration
Marine Le Pen told Sputnik she was calling on French President Emmanuel Macron to refrain from signing the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration as it could lead to some loss of the national sovereignty.
"Obviously, this is about taking away some more freedom from the countries… This is about yet another loss of part of the sovereignty of the nations… I am calling on president Macron to refuse to sign this Marrakesh pact that will make us even more powerless in solving migration problems," Le Pen said.
READ MORE: US State Dept Backs NATO Amid Macron's Proposal to Create EU Army
The comment referred to the intergovernmental conference to adopt the pact, which will be held in Marrakesh on December 10-11.
The United States withdrew from the pact in 2017, with the US administration saying the agreement was incompatible with US policy on migration. Austria has said recently it would pull out from the pact, citing fear that this could lead to migration being seen as a "human right." Hungary has also withdrawn.
