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Marine Le Pen: if we win, say goodbye to international cooperation
La candidata di estrema destra alla presidenza della regione Nord-Pas de Calais: basta inviare zanzariere in Senegal per lottare contro la malaria.
“There’s no point in paying mosquito nets to protect Senegalese people from malaria. In our country tumours and other severe diseases are devastating. We have children suffering from autism that are forced to receive medical care in Belgium because we don’t have proper facilities. This is why, if I win, I will abolish any programme of international cooperation”. Signed, Marine Le Pen, the candidate for the presidency of the French region of Nord-Pas de Calais. In an interview to RMC Radio, she revealed her project, which has been already defined as “shameful” by Annick Girardin, Minister of State for Development.
Le Pen’s Party, the National Front, has registered a resounding hike in consensus during the first round of French regional elections, held on 6 December. The candidates of the right-wing movement won in 6 regions out of 13, waiting for the second round to be held on 13 December. On a national level, the victory was unprecedented: the National Front gained 27.73% of consensus across France, according to official data released by the Ministry of the Interior. This means over 6 million votes: the best result ever, making the Party led by Marine Le Pen France’s first.
In particular, the daughter of the historic leader Jean-Marie (the one who said that gas chambers used to execute Jewish people are “a detail of history”) gained over 40% of votes in France’s most northern region. Surveys concerning the second ballot show a delay compared to her rival, Xavier Bertrand, who will gain most of the votes to Socialists in the first round. Maybe this is one of the reasons that led Le Pen to overstate, directly attacking aids to the world’s poorest countries.
“Every euro should be spent for the region and its citizens,” explained Le Pen, announcing the elimination of cooperation programmes with the developing world. “It is an absurd proposal. Funds allocated to international aids allow tens of businesses to work and hundreds of young people to be trained in this sector,” said Girardin.
The region has launched a series of cooperation projects in Mali, Senegal, Madagascar, Poland, and Brazil. According to the news agency AFP, such projects require nearly 6 million euros, out of a total regional budget of 1.7 billion euros. It is thus not about finance, it’s all about a precise political choice.
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