MOSCOW: Russia said on Monday it had neither the “hope” nor the “illusion” that ties with Paris would improve following the left-wing alliance’s victory in French parliamentary elections.
Moscow expressed skepticism regarding the prospects of improving relations with France following the disappointing performance of the far-right in elections.
The second round of French legislative elections saw Marine Le Pen’s far-right party, which had previously maintained warm relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, finishing third despite leading in early polls and the first round of voting.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “For Russia, the best scenario would have been a victory for political forces willing to engage in efforts to restore our bilateral relationships. Currently, we do not observe such a clear political will from any side, hence we do not hold any expectations or illusions in this regard.”
Vyacheslav Volodin, the president of Russia’s Duma (lower house), praised French voters for what he described as “showing the door” to President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, which suffered significant losses in the elections. Volodin also warned other European leaders, suggesting they would face similar electoral outcomes if they continued to prioritize external affairs over domestic issues and economic development.
Russian authorities had previously expressed optimism after Le Pen’s party topped the initial round of voting last month. However, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the coalition-building tactics employed in the second round, where left-wing and centrist alliances joined forces against the far-right. Lavrov described the maneuver as undermining the democratic expression of voter preferences from the first round.
“The second round appears to have been engineered to manipulate the voters’ expressed desires from the first round… this does not align with the principles of democracy,” Lavrov stated.
