The Albany Gazette - France's far-right leaders court Israel, Germany envoys ahead of vote

Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration National Rally (RN) party is eyeing its best chance yet at taking power, with President Emmanuel Macron stepping down after hitting the two-term limit.

Le Pen hopes to run for president for a fourth time in 2027, after twice making it to the runoffs against Macron in the last two votes.

But if an appeals court in July bars the 57-year-old from public office over an alleged fake jobs scam in European Parliament, her lieutenant Jordan Bardella, 30, is expected to run in her place.

France is home to western Europe's largest Jewish population, at around half a million people.

Le Pen has long sought to make the party she inherited from her father Jean-Marie more palatable, including by distancing it from the antisemitic legacy of a man convicted for Holocaust denial.

As polls suggest she or Bardella could well lead in the first round of the election, the strategy seems to have paid off.

Bardella, who is RN party leader after taking over from Le Pen, in February met the German ambassador, his party and a participant said.

The embassy did not confirm the meeting.

But a diplomatic source told AFP it was "the responsibility of a foreign mission to maintain contacts with all the political forces in the host country concerned".

Germany has long been among Israel's staunchest allies, something Berlin has grounded in the country's responsibility for the Holocaust.

"Yes, they met in February," a member of Bardella's team said, seeking to present it as a routine meeting.

He "meets many ambassadors as part of his duties as head of the RN party and as leader of a group in the European Parliament," the person said.

Bardella is head of the Patriots for Europe group, the EU legislature's third-largest bloc that was co-founded in 2024 by former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban.

- 'Areas of convergence' -

The participant said the discussion between Bardella and the German ambassador made it possible to identify "areas of convergence" on several issues in France and neighbouring Germany.

They focused in particular on "budgetary discipline" in both leading EU member states.

The episode follows Le Pen last month meeting the Israeli ambassador for the first time.

The embassy confirmed the meeting, with a diplomatic source adding that the ambassador "received all political parties" except from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI).

LFI has criticised Israel over the war in Gaza, and its leader Jean-Luc Melenchon -- also a candidate next year -- has been accused of making antisemitic comments.

Before the meeting with the Israeli envoy, Le Pen had the previous day been seen meeting the Lebanese ambassador, who thanked her for her solidarity as his country sought a lasting ceasefire with neighbouring Israel.

Both Le Pen and Bardella also met the US ambassador late last year.

US ambassador Charles Kushner in December on X posted a picture of himself with them, saying he appreciated the chance to learn from them "about the RN's economic and social agenda and their views on what lies ahead for France".

(T.Brown--TAG)