A protester was thrown to the ground and pulled out of a Marine Le Pen press conference after holding a heart-shaped sign with a photo of the French presidential candidate and Vladimir Putin.
The footage shows Pauline Rapili Fernio, a green city councilor in the Boulogne-Billancourt district of Paris, getting to her feet and holding the sign while Ms. Le Pen talks to reporters.
A security guard then threw Mrs. Ferniot to the ground before pulling her out of the room with one hand.
He is then seen pulling the city councilor into another room before the doors close.
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Ms Fernio is part of a left-wing group called the Ibiza Collective, which was formed in France when the Minister of Education went on holiday to the Balearic Islands after closing schools during the pandemic.
Speaking after she was removed from the conference, Ms. Fernio said: “We just wanted to make the fact that Marin Le Pen’s diplomacy is to be complacent with dictators, so we made it visible.
“And don’t forget that she has been a strong partner of Vladimir Putin for a long time, and we found that today we forget a little bit about that.
“And the goal of Ibiza Collective is to highlight topics that we don’t think we’re talking about enough, so it worked out, because you’re all telling me about what we wanted to show. And we need that between two laps to remember the danger of the National Rally. “
Image: Pauline Rapili Ferniot was thrown to the ground by a security officer. Photo: BFM Image: The protester was dragged to another room after picking up the sign. Photo: BFM
The far-right presidential candidate, Ms. Le Pen, later said Ms. Fernio was knocked to the ground by an interior ministry security official, but French media said he was a member of the candidate’s own security team. President.
Ms Le Pen, who leads the National Rally party, used the conference to warn against sending more weapons to Ukraine.
She also called for improved NATO-Russia relations after the war.
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The outspoken nationalist, who has long ties to Russia, has also confirmed that he will withdraw France from NATO’s military command and refuse French support for the EU if he wins the April 24 election.
French President Emmanuel Macron, a pro-European centrist, is facing a tougher-than-expected struggle to stay in power, in part because the economic impact of the war is hitting poor households hardest.
Image: Ms. Fernio said she wanted to remind people of Marin Le Pen’s ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: BFM Image: Marin Le Pen is an outspoken nationalist who has long had ties to Russia. Photo: AP
France’s European partners are worried that a possible presidency of Le Pen could undermine the unity of the West, as the United States and Europe seek to support Ukraine and end Russia’s war against its neighbor.
Asked about military aid to Ukraine, Ms Le Pen said she would continue to support defense and intelligence.
“(But) I’m more reserved about direct arms supplies. Why? Because … the line between helping and becoming a conquering country is thin, “the far-right leader said.
Earlier on Wednesday, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said France had sent 100m euros (82m pounds) in arms to Ukraine in recent weeks as part of a flow of Western weapons.
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