French President Emmanuel Macron has attacked election rival Marine Le Pen over Russia as he looks to retain the presidency after the election. He told reporters this week: “You should not be looking at me if you want to find complacency towards Vladimir Putin, or Russian financing. “You should be looking at the other candidates. Don’t forget that.” While Mr Macron did not name Ms Le Pen by name, his comments were a clear reference to the far-right National Rally leader who was hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2017 and whose party is continuing to pay back a loan of around £7.5million from a Russian creditor.
Ms Le Pen has long been a rival of Mr Macron – she was defeated by him in the 2017 presidential election.
During her time as a leading opposition figure, she has caused a stir with her attitude towards Russia and Putin.
In 2014, Ms Le Pen endorsed the Kremlin’s referendum in the Russian-annexed Crimea as legitimate.
In 2015, reports in the French press based on hacked Kremlin records showed that Ms Le Pen may have lent her support to Putin’s annexation in return for a loan from a Russian bank – although the allegations of a quid pro quo have never been proved.
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Ms Le Pen’s view of Putin also came under the microscope following the invasion of Ukraine.
In February, she said she did not believe “at all” that Russia would invade Ukraine, and condemned “a misunderstanding of the issues and thinking” in Russia.
She added: “I don’t see what the Russians would do in Ukraine and what would be their interest there.
“If I were president right now I wouldn’t have the glacial relations that exist between Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron.”
READ MORE: Le Pen supported Russia’s Crimea annexation — unearthed 2017 reports
He also said in December he was happy to “bet that Russia will not invade Ukraine.”
Mr Zemmour changed tack dramatically, saying he “condemned” Russia’s invasion “without reservations,” and condemned it as “unjustifiable.”
Ms Le Pen has closed the gap on President Macron in the French election polls.
The latest Ipsos Sopra Steria Cevipof poll for Le Monde newspaper on Wednesday gave Mr Macron a projected vote share of 26.5 percent to Ms Le Pen’s 21.5 percent in the first round of ballots on April 10.
In late March, Mr Macron’s lead was over 10 points, according to the same pollster.