Putin hosts French candidate Le Pen
PARIS — French President Francois Hollande on Friday vigorously denounced suggestions by the conservative presidential hopeful that he is trying to discredit political rivals behind the scenes by using dirty tricks.
The clash between the Socialist Hollande and the right-wing Francois Fillon threatens to further strain the French presidential campaign, already tainted by corruption scandals and voter frustration with the political establishment.
It has also drawn comparisons to President Donald Trump’s accusations of wiretapping by predecessor Barack Obama, and Trump’s attacks on the U.S. judicial system.
Fillon, whose presidential bid is flailing because of corruption charges, told France-2 television Thursday night that he wants an investigation into suggestions in an upcoming book that Hollande intervenes in legal cases for political reasons. ropean political forces.”
Le Pen’s anti-immigration and anti-EU platform appeals to the Kremlin, which has postured as a defender of conservative national values against Western globalization. She also has called for strong security ties with Moscow to jointly combat radical Islamic groups, promised to work to repeal the EU sanctions on Moscow over its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and pledged to recognize Crimea as part of Russia if she’s elected.
“I long have spoken for Russia and France to restore their cultural, economic and strategic ties, especially now, when we face a serious terror threat,” Le Pen told Putin on Friday. The meeting was a surprise addition to her meeting with Russian lawmakers, which was announced earlier this week.
A Russia-friendly approach to geopolitics runs in the Le Pen family. Jean-Marie Le Pen, the National Front’s co-founder, his daughter Marine and her niece Marion Marechal-Le Pen have all made numerous visits to Moscow over the years.
Le Pen herself has repeatedly visited Russia, and her party borrowed 9 million euros in 2014 from the small First Czech Russian Bank, but the bank’s license was later revoked.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the prospect that Russian banks could offer Le Pen more loans to help fund her campaign.
Polls show Le Pen as the likely winner of the first round of France’s presidential vote on April 23, but indicate that she would lose presidential runoff on May 7 to centrist independent candidate Emmanuel Macron.
Once considered the front-runner in the French race, conservative candidate Francois Fillon has fallen behind Le Pen and Macron after facing preliminary charges in a probe of taxpayer-funded jobs his wife and children received but allegedly never performed.
Russian state-controlled television stations and other media have offered extensive, friendly coverage of Le Pen and Fillon while casting Macron in a more negative light.