France’s withdrawal from NATO and the transfer of defense activities to state ownership are part of the official platform of France Unbowed (La France Insoumise), the French radical-left party led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Released on Friday, the 222-page document sets out a two-stage process for leaving the alliance: an immediate departure from NATO’s integrated military command, followed by a gradual withdrawal from the organization.
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The platform also opposes the United States’ demand that NATO members raise defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product (GDP). Meanwhile, the document makes clear that, under Mélenchon’s leadership, France would continue to assist European Union countries, honoring its obligations under European treaties.
The publication comes ahead of April’s presidential election, with the latest polls increasingly placing Mélenchon second. A place in the runoff could pit him against radical-right leader Marine Le Pen. She, too, has voiced support for France’s withdrawal from NATO’s integrated command.
Mélenchon has previously outlined these positions in public interviews. Their formal inclusion in the party’s platform, however, lends greater political weight to plans to reassess France’s ties with the Western military alliance.
On the war in Ukraine, France Unbowed advocates diplomacy as a way to end the conflict. Unlike Le Pen’s party, it has not explicitly called for an end to aid to Kyiv.
The document calls for any peace agreement to be based on collective security guarantees agreed upon by the warring parties and the rest of Europe.
On arms policy, Mélenchon’s party seeks stronger controls, including on nuclear weapons and autonomous weapons systems. Alongside its opposition to an arms race in space, it also proposes closing NATO’s space center in Toulouse.
The platform also includes France’s purchase of an orbital spacecraft. It prioritizes investment in systems that multiply defense capabilities, as well as in technology and equipment that the country currently uses through NATO.
Taken together, these proposals indicate that Mélenchon’s rise to power would bring a significant shift in France’s foreign and defense policies.
