France's National Rally Frontrunners Vow To Break Brussels' Grip On Migration Policy

Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella of France's National Rally are the clear frontrunners to become the next French president, and what they are now proposing has consequences far beyond France.The EU migration pact requires member states to either accept migrants designated by Brussels or face fines of 20,000 euros per person. Poland and Hungary voted against it, but in the EU system elected governments cannot block such measures. Bardella has vowed that if he comes to power he would move to oust Ursula Von der Leyen as EU Commission president.Le Pen is going further: she is pledging a French constitutional referendum on immigration the only means, she argues, to regain control of migration policy from Brussels. As Michael Heaver argues, this reflects the deeper reality of EU membership: even a Euroskeptic president and government cannot fully escape the bloc's grip on border policy. Ultimately, the only way out is to leave the European Union entirely.