In a sharp pivot from past skepticism, France’s far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party is embracing Bitcoin, and this time with nuclear ambition. Once an opponent of digital currencies, RN’s Marine Le Pen has now expressed using surplus energy from France’s nuclear power plants to mine Bitcoin, signaling a dramatic shift in the party’s economic strategy.
As per local reports, the proposal first surfaced during Le Pen’s March 11 visit to the Flamanville nuclear facility in Normandy. She championed the idea of leveraging unused electricity from EDF (Électricité de France) reactors to power crypto mining farms. RN lawmaker Aurélien Lopez-Liguori, tasked with formalizing the plan into legislation, called it a secure and extremely profitable solution that avoids energy waste and boosts energy sovereignty.
Le Pen’s pro-crypto stance is a sharp contrast to her 2016 promise to ban digital currencies and her 2022 attempt to “regulate” them. Now in 2025, the RN appears to be actively promoting the crypto ecosystem as part of its nationalist economic vision.
The party has also floated proposals to include Bitcoin in a future “sovereign wealth fund” and submitted (though rejected) legislative amendments to explore how mining could diversify France’s energy mix. However, internal friction remains.
RN’s financial spokesperson, Jean-Philippe Tanguy, warned that Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos undermines the state’s monetary control, clashing with the party’s traditional statist learning.
Nonetheless, RN isn’t alone. Sarah Knafo of the only European Parliamentarian rival, far-right Reconquête! Party and figures like Eric Ciotti have also voiced support for Bitcoin, advocating for strategic crypto reserves. Their vision echoes the libertarian models of Trump, Bukele, and Milei—leaders admired by many in the crypto world.
With the political left largely disengaged from the crypto debate, citing environmental and criminal concerns, the far right has filled the vacuum. Entrepreneurs like Ledger Founder Eric Larcheveque and Paymium CEO Pierre Noizat are openly aligning with RN and its allies, seeing crypto as a vehicle for sovereignty, freedom, and economic reinvention.
Also Read: France Plans to Use Surplus Electricity for Bitcoin Mining
