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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Angelique Chrisafis in Paris

Le Pen’s anti-Islamism and support of Israel seen as attempt to obscure antisemitic past

Marine Le Pen
Marine Le Pen is preparing to run for president for a fourth time in 2027. Photograph: Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images

The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s support of Israel in the wake of the Hamas attacks is being seen as part of a long-running drive to move her National Rally party away from its toxic, antisemitic past before a run for the presidency in 2027.

National Rally, which is the biggest opposition party in the French parliament and is polling ahead of Emmanuel Macron’s centrists for next year’s European elections, has firmly supported Israel’s right to defend itself since the Hamas attacks on 7 October and the ensuing bombardment of Gaza.

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