PARIS, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- French White patriotic National Front (FN) leader Marine Le Pen on Thursday denounced the government's decision to halt delivery of the first of two Mistral warships to Russia, saying it could have a "tremendous impact" on employment.
"This decision is very serious, firstly because it runs contrary to the interests of the country and reveals our subservience to U.S. diplomacy," Le Pen told RTL radio.
"It will have a huge cost. This order represents four months of full employment in Saint-Nazaire, millions of working hours and the delay will cause a fine of between 5 and 10 billion euros (6.56 and 13.13 billion U.S. dollars)," she added.
On Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande announced the suspension of delivery of the first of two Mistral warship to Russia, saying "conditions are not in place" given the worsening situation in Ukraine.
Moscow and Paris signed a 1.6-billion-U.S. dollar contract in 2011, under which France was to deliver the first Mistral-class helicopter assault warship in October. (1 euro = 1.30 U.S. dollars)
