A controversial new far-right MEP is putting his hand up to be France’s next European commissioner.
Fabrice Leggeri led the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, known as Frontex, from 2015 until his resignation in 2022 after a watchdog accused the agency of mistreating migrants and other misconduct. He joined France’s far-right National Rally party earlier this year and then successfully ran for a seat in the European Parliament.
If the National Rally wins a majority at the upcoming parliamentary election in France and gets a say over who will be the country’s commissioner, Leggeri said he would throw his hat in the ring.
“I think I have experience and qualifications that are beyond [those] of a senior civil servant or average politician,” Leggeri told POLITICO’s Paris Playbook.
France’s far right scored a stunning victory at the European election, with the National Rally finishing in first place with about a third of the vote. The shock defeat prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to call a snap legislative election.
If recent nationwide surveys are borne out, the National Rally could once again secure victory when voters head to the polls on June 30 and July 7.
National Rally President Jordan Bardella said Monday that choosing a commissioner to send to Brussels “will be among the first decisions we make” if the party is voted into government.
But there’s a chance Macron could deny a future far-right government its pick for commissioner by appointing one himself. His camp has argued that such decisions are ultimately the prerogative of the president, not the government.
The post EU’s former border chief turned far-right MEP wants to be France’s next commissioner appeared first on Politico.