Marine Le Pen blasts Putin for questioning French control of Mayotte, military presence there

After reports that Moscow had denounced the “militarization” of Mayotte, National Rally’s Le Pen took to X to put Putin in his place. The Kremlin had stated that Paris of “illegally” controlling the Indian Ocean archipelago after increasing its military presence there. Mayotte is an overseas department of France.

“Mayotte is French, and it will remain so! Russia has no lessons to teach us, no right to question our sovereignty, and no say in what we do on our territory. If France wants to establish a military base in Mayotte (which is an excellent idea), it will do so. These interferences and attempts at destabilization are unacceptable,” wrote Le Pen, who heads up the RN group in France’s National Assembly.

Mayotte est française, elle le restera ! La Russie n’a pas de leçon à nous donner, n’a pas à remettre en cause notre souveraineté et n’a pas son mot à dire sur ce que nous faisons sur notre territoire. Si la France veut se doter d’une base militaire à Mayotte (ce qui est une… https://t.co/E9TKm9JuJy

— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) March 27, 2025

Ironically, after French President Macron announced €2 billion of military aid for Ukraine, Le Pen had noted that France’s total debt was already a whopping €3.3 trillion.

Macron has just wrapped up the Coalition of the Willing summit, after which he reiterated to reporters that Europe must stand strong and united in its defense. He also announced that France and the U.K. would be sending troops to Ukraine once a peace deal is reached. 

For her part, Le Pen has been a vocal proponent of increased defense spending for France and for the country to beef up its military capabilities and preparedness.

Marine Le Pen: Unlike my father, Macron will be remembered as a man who ‘did nothing’

Commenting also on the five-year prison sentence handed down to French-Algerian writer Boualem Sensal by a court in Algiers, Le Pen posted on X that it was “a life sentence” that would “remain an indelible stain on the Algerian regime.” 

“In reality,” the RB MEP said, “Boualem Sansal is a hostage of the Algerian regime, which is using him to force France to its knees.”

According to BBC, Macron is trying to pressure the Algerian government to set Sansal free.

Algeria sentences French-Algerian writer to 5 years in prison, media call him a ‘false martyr’