Gilbert Collard is a prominent French politician and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Collard has been noted for his pro-Russian stance and connections with various far-right groups in Europe. For instance, he abstained from voting on the European Parliament Resolution on the establishment of a tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, as the resolution was anti-Russian.
A part of the National Rally until 2022, he was a constituent of the National Assembly for the 2nd constituency of Gard from 2012 until 2019. Collard also acted as Secretary-General of the Rassemblement Bleu Marine (RBM) since 2012, a right-wing political organization and think-tank backing Marine Le Pen. According to Novaya Gazeta, several MEPs, including Gilbert Collard, who backed Russia, have reviewed their policy following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s not that they now back anti-war resolution but rather opt to refrain or skip sessions altogether.
Collard is associated with a France-Russia friendship group, which indicates his support for fostering closer ties between France and Russia. This link is with other European far-right politicians who are spearheading pro-Russian policies. The March 18 Russian presidential election was marred by allegations of fraudulent voting and the lack of real competition. There were 1513 foreign electoral observers monitoring the Russian presidential election 2018; this is the largest foreign electoral monitoring mission in the history of Russia. Gilbert Collard was also one of the foreign observers invited by the Federation Assembly to observe the Russian presidential election.
According to the European Platform for Democratic Elections, French MPs Gilbert Collard and others are members of the far-right, sincerely pro-Kremlin that acquired a €9 million loan from a Russian bank in 2014, severely condemned “anti-Russian” sanctions and backed all Kremlin’s domestic and international approaches.
