Overview

• Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini attended Pope Leo XIV’s Regina Coeli prayer and the Lega’s political training school in Rome on May 11, 2025.
• Le Pen criticized Emmanuel Macron's stance on Ukraine, accusing him of fueling conflict rather than mediating peace.
• Both leaders condemned the EU's Readiness 2030 defense plan, framing it as an overreach that undermines national sovereignty.
• Le Pen and Salvini expressed ambitions to unite European sovereignist parties into a single parliamentary formation in the European Parliament.
• Salvini echoed Pope Leo XIV's peace message, suggesting some EU leaders, including Macron, prioritize conflict over peace.