French far-right leader Marine Le Pen reportedly held a discreet meeting this week with Israel’s ambassador to the country, Joshua Zarka, continuing an ongoing shift in Israel’s approach to European far-right parties, as well as a rift between Jerusalem and French President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

The meeting — first reported by French Jewish radio station RCJ and subsequently confirmed by Le Parisien, citing the Israeli embassy — was not publicly announced through official diplomatic channels.

It came against the backdrop of Le Pen’s criticism of many Israel-related policies of Macron, who defeated her in the country’s last two presidential elections, and who has angered Israeli officials by criticizing Jerusalem’s conduct during the multifront war sparked by the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.

Le Pen also reportedly met recently with Lebanon’s ambassador to France, Rabih Chaer.

Israel and Lebanon this week launched historic negotiations in the United States amid the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, with the Jewish state being vocal about sidelining Paris from the talks.

“We’d like to keep the French as far away as possible from pretty much everything, but particularly when it comes to peace negotiations,” said Israel’s US ambassador Yechiel Leiter, who represented Israel at the negotiations in Washington, on Tuesday. “They’re not needed. They’re not a positive influence, particularly not on Lebanon.”

While Le Pen is generally a staunch supporter of Israel and backed the Jewish state after the October 7 onslaught, she has recently criticized the war against Iran and distanced........

© The Times of Israel