Social media posts, mostly in Spanish, have been circulating the claim that Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader of National Rally, is promising a referendum on France's EU membership if she wins the Élysée Palace in 2027. The posts offer no further detail, and that lack of substance is a telling sign: Le Pen is not calling for a Frexit vote.
It is true that Le Pen has a history of Euroscepticism. She celebrated the UK's Brexit result in 2016 and made leaving the EU and abandoning the euro flagship proposals in her 2012 and 2017 presidential campaigns. But she has since dropped those ideas. In the 2022 election, she instead advocated for a radical overhaul of the EU from within—stripping Brussels of most of its powers and turning the bloc into a looser alliance of sovereign nations.
This shift reflects a broader trend among far-right parties across Europe. Before Brexit, politicians like Geert Wilders in the Netherlands and Matteo Salvini in Italy regularly floated their own referenda. Those calls have largely quietened, though Wilders revived his "Nexit" proposal this week, telling Dutch MPs that leaving the EU is necessary to curb migration. But Le Pen has not followed suit.
What Le Pen actually proposes
Le Pen's current platform focuses on reforming the EU from the inside. She wants to reduce the European Commission's authority, reassert national control over borders and energy policy, and replace the euro with a common currency that would coexist with national currencies. She has also suggested holding referenda on other issues, such as immigration or the justice system, which may have fueled the online rumors about an EU vote.
Her change in stance is partly pragmatic. Polls show that French support for EU membership has grown significantly. A Pew Research study from earlier this year found that 52% of French respondents now view the EU favorably, up from 38% in 2016. A YouGov poll from late 2025 similarly found that 49% of French voters would choose to remain in the EU, versus 27% who would leave.
Even if Le Pen were to win the presidency and push for a Frexit referendum, the outcome would likely be a vote to stay. That may explain why she has distanced herself from the idea. Her current strategy is to appeal to voters who are critical of the EU but not ready to sever ties entirely.
Le Pen is currently leading in first-round polling for the 2027 election, with around 33-36% support. But her path to the Élysée remains uncertain, as she has historically struggled in the second round against centrist opponents. Her recent focus has been on domestic issues like cost of living, security, and immigration, rather than EU withdrawal.
The online claims about a Frexit referendum appear to be a distortion of her actual proposals. While she remains a fierce critic of the EU, her policy has evolved to seek change from within, not exit. For now, a Frexit vote is not on the cards.
