"We consider that this year's European elections are a kind of referendum: a referendum on the success or failure of President [Emmanuel] Macron, in the national political context, but also in the European context, and a referendum on the type of EU that citizens want", says the former executive director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) in an interview with Lusa in Brussels. After serving from 2015 to 2022, when he resigned due to allegations of disrespect for human rights by non-governmental organisations, Leggeri is now running for the French far-right party National Rally in the European elections next June. He is third on the list. "We want to be inside the European Parliament, the EU institutions, as 'insiders' to transform the European Union so that, for example, we can put an end to what we consider to be very bad for citizens -- not only for French citizens, but also for other European citizens", stresses the candidate in this interview with Lusa. Speaking of "concerns shared with different EU Member States", Fabrice Leggeri lists illegal migration, low economic growth, EU bureaucracy, the opening up of the single market to third countries and the environmental goals of the Green Deal. "We are very generous as Europeans and we consider that this is naive, particularly in trade terms", he stresses. As for the agricultural issue, after intense protests by European farmers, especially French farmers, the candidate defends "food sovereignty" and that "European goods and services be protected". The European elections are scheduled for 6-9 June, while the French presidential elections are scheduled for April 2027. According to the latest polls, the National Rally could be the most voted party in the European elections of June 2024, with about 30% of the votes, ahead of Emmanuel Macron's liberal Renaissance party and the French Socialist Party, which should occupy respectively the second and third places, according to voting intentions. In 2019, the National Rally elected 18 MEPs out of a total of 79 seats in France. Now, the country will have 81 MEPs after a recent redistribution. In the European Parliament, the National Rally (Rassemblement National) is part of the far-right parliamentary group Identity and Democracy, which Chega is expected to join if it elects MEPs in these European elections in June. "We were very pleased that the Chega party got 18% [in the legislative elections in March] in Portugal. Marine Le Pen [former president of the group, now led by Jordan Bardella] was excited", Fabrice Leggeri tells Lusa. For the candidate, such a percentage "for the first time in a country like Portugal, where until recently patriots were not represented, shows that there is something wrong in Europe" and that "the concerns and interests of ordinary citizens are not sufficiently taken into account". When asked about Chega's integration into Identity and Democracy, Fabrice Leggeri said that "we will have to see at the end of the elections how many seats there are and which other colleagues may have". Read Also: NGOs sue former Frontex director running for Le Pen's party (Portuguese version)