Posted on 04/25/22
| News Source: i24
'It’s a relief to see that Marine Le Pen was blocked – but this time we were seriously worried'
French-Jewish leaders expressed relief after Emmanuel Macron beat Marine Le Pen in France’s presidential election on Sunday.
“It’s a relief to see that Marine Le Pen was blocked from reaching power – but this time we were seriously worried,” said Francis Kalifat, head of the French-Jewish body Crif, Haaretz reported.
“We were concerned because some people… had made ambiguous statements, refusing to call on their supporters to vote for Macron,” Kalifat added.
National Rally leader Le Pen’s 41.5 percent was the highest ever reached by a far-right party in France.
Samuel Lejoyeux, head of the Union of Jewish Students of France, said that while he was happy with the results, it was no victory.
“The main thing is that Marine Le Pen and her racist and antisemitic project have been kept out of the Élysée Palace, but the progress she has made is frightening,” Lejoyeux warned.