Le Pen Says Ukraine Conflict Risks Becoming WWIII or a Hundred Years’ War

French presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen has warned that the Russia-Ukraine war could end either in direct NATO involvement and a wider global conflict or in a prolonged confrontation lasting for generations.

“Either NATO enters this war, and it will be the Third World War, or we will witness a Hundred Years’ War,” Le Pen said.

Her intervention comes as a recent Toluna Harris Interactive poll put her at 33% to 36% of first-round voting intentions across the scenarios tested ahead of France’s presidential election next spring.

Warning Over a Prolonged War

Le Pen said the conflict's duration and human cost were receiving insufficient attention.

“This war has already lasted longer than the First World War, and nobody is talking about it,” she said.

She put the number of victims at 2 million, describing the conflict as “a real slaughter” and “terrible.”

Her remarks framed the war as approaching a strategic choice between further escalation and an extended conflict with no near-term political settlement.

Germany, Poland and Türkiye at the Table

Le Pen argued that any negotiations should involve a broader group of European powers.

She said Germany should participate, alongside Poland and Türkiye, and presented France as a potential facilitator of talks.

“I believe that the historic role of France is precisely to create the conditions for a negotiation that precedes peace, as we did for Vietnam,” she said.

Le Pen also criticized former U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson, describing the English as “always extremely warlike” and saying this was often at the U.S.'s request.

Criticism of Trump’s Iran War

Le Pen also questioned the objectives and outcome of Donald Trump’s war against Iran.

She said it remained unclear what Trump had sought to achieve and argued that his stated war aims had not been met.

Le Pen warned that the conflict risked producing worldwide economic consequences, including higher inflation affecting populations well beyond the Middle East.

She said Washington should instead have been persuaded not to launch a war against Iran, which she described as an ancient, complex civilization and a more powerful country than Trump had anticipated.

Multiculturalism and National Identity

Le Pen separately drew a distinction between multi-ethnic and multicultural societies.

She argued that countries could contain populations of different ethnic origins while maintaining a single dominant civic culture.

Citing the U.S., she said people from different backgrounds swear allegiance to the Constitution, which she characterized as a common foundation of American culture.

Le Pen argued that societies organized around multiple competing cultures risk becoming more conflict-prone.

Referendum on Islamist Ideologies

Le Pen said she would propose a referendum in France to counter Islamist ideologies.

She described their presence across parts of French society as a danger not only to security but also to the country’s culture and constitutional rights.

The proposal adds a domestic policy component to a political platform that, in her latest remarks, also places foreign policy, war and national sovereignty at the center of the debate.

2027 Presidential Polling

The Toluna Harris Interactive survey cited by BFMTV showed Le Pen receiving between 33% and 36% in the first round, depending on the configuration tested.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon received between 16% and 17% in scenarios that included him, while former prime minister Édouard Philippe registered between 14% and 19%.

The poll also tested hypothetical second-round matchups, putting Le Pen at 67% against Melenchon’s 33%, 56% against Gabriel Attal’s 44%, and 55% against Philippe’s 45%.

France’s first presidential round is scheduled for April 18, 2027, followed by a second round on May 2 if no candidate secures a majority.