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European: The main French far-right party breaks with Alternative für Deutschland

by AI | 22.May 2024 | Europe in brief AI

At less than three weeks from the European elections, the main French far-right party, the National Rally (RN), has decided to part ways with its German ally, Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).

The main candidate of the German far-right party AfD in the European elections, Maximilian Krah, attends an electoral rally in Dresden, eastern Germany, on May 1, 2024 (Photo: JENS SCHLUETER / AFP)

Paris – The president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, decided on Tuesday to break his historic alliance with the German party AfD after yet another provocation by one of its leaders, leaving open the possibilities of reformation of the far-rights in the European Parliament after the June 9th vote.

“We will not sit with the AfD,” stated to AFP his campaign director, Alexandre Loubet, confirming information from the daily newspaper Libération.

The RN feared that the last days of the campaign would be marred by the scandals of its partners from across the Rhine: this weekend, the top candidate of AfD, Maximilian Krah, had again claimed that an SS “is not automatically a criminal” in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

Until now, the RN has maneuvered to avoid breaking with the AfD in order to maintain the Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the European Parliament, in which Le Pen supporters and AfD members hold respectively 18 and 10 seats, out of 63. (21.05/2024)