French President Emmanuel Macron last week sparked a tsunami of criticism after reiterating his call on the international community to “avoid humiliating Russia” over Ukraine. But three days ahead of the first round of the French legislative elections, the French leader has won the unlikely backing of two of his fiercest political foes: far right leader Marine Le Pen and leftist firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
In an interview with French broadcaster FranceInfo on Tuesday, Le Pen spoke a phrase rarely heard from her mouth: “The French president is right”. She was referring to Macron’s renewed call on the West to avoid humiliating Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin in a bid to offer Moscow a diplomatic way out of the war in Ukraine.
