Le Pen’s Last Laugh?
Notorious politician Jean-Marie Le Pen is confident that France will vote against the EU Constitution—which he sees as a threat to French sovereignty
NEWSWEEK: Recently, poll after poll has put the anti-constitution vote ahead in France. And you've said that a "no" vote will probably win.
Jean-Marie Le Pen: The government will use every means possible and imaginable [for a "yes" win]. Now, in confidence, the prime minister tells us that … it’s a French Europe that we’re trying to build—a sort of French colony. It's like an old joke during the war: “Come quick! Come quick! I took 50 prisoners, but they won’t let me go!” [
Laughs.] Well it’s exactly that, isn’t it? France took 24 prisoners, but they won’t let it go!
In Europe now, we represent no more than a chip; there are 24 other [countries] and there will be 27, 30, umpteen, we don’t know. Since our leaders have told us the only condition for entry into Europe is to respect human rights, well, in that case, we could maybe let in Australia, Japan, some countries like that. There’s a French fable called “The Frog Who Wanted to Make Herself as Big as the Cow.” She puffs and puffs herself up and, at a certain point, she explodes—even before getting very big.
And who’s the cow?
Well, the cow is the great powers, like the United States.
Where does the United States come into play here?
Oh, the United States pushes hard for the constitution of a Europe that would be subordinate to it. Europe already is, for that matter!
The French "no" camp is pretty eclectic. Will you join forces with other opponents of the constitution in your "no" campaign?
Of course not. Why? Everyone exerts their influence in their own sphere. I’m trying to convince people through arguments that can touch all sorts of people, and not just people in my strict political obedience.
French President Jacques Chirac appears to be keeping his distance from the constitutional debate, ostensibly to avoid turning the referendum into a plebiscite about him. You aren't very popular with some parts of the French population. Do you feel any need to keep your distance, too, to avoid personifying the "no" vote?
I’m not ashamed to be what I am. Democracy has it that people have to take me as I am; that’s how it is. I feel I represent a very strong current, a national current, attached to notions of nation, of homeland, that I think represents the majority of the French people. Since I don’t believe that Jacques Chirac is respected, I think that if he declares himself openly and firmly in favor of the constitution, it will be what is called in bullfighting "the strike of descabello"—when the bull is in agony and the matador strikes its nape, killing it instantly. So, I’m waiting for Jacques Chirac to finish off a faltering “yes” vote by openly supporting it.
What happens if the “no” wins, then, for Chirac?
Ah, I don’t know! That’s the great uncertainty of the sport. Maybe he’ll put a bullet in his head. [
Laughs.]
You’ve said that voting “yes” would be a shot in the head for France. What are the big immediate worries, if the "yes" side wins?
To me, voting for the constitution is high treason. Deciding that a group of people, whatever its motivation ... should take up the task of making the French nation disappear from the history of the world—I find that monstrous.