National Front (France) - International Relations

International Relations

The FN has been part of several groups in the European Parliament. The first group it helped co-establish was the European Right after the 1984 election, which also consisted of the Italian Social Movement (MSI), its early inspiration, and the Greek National Political Union. Following the 1989 election, it teamed up with the German Republicans and the Belgian Vlaams Blok in a new European Right group, while the MSI left due to the Germans' arrival. As the MSI evolved into the National Alliance, it chose to distance itself from the FN. From 1999 to 2001, the FN was a member of the Technical Group of Independents. In 2007, it was part of the short-lived Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty group. Currently (and between the mentioned groups), the party sits among the non-affiliated Non-Inscrits.

The party has also been active in establishing extra-parliamentary confederations. During the FN's 1997 national congress, the FN established the loose EuroNat group, which consisted of a variety of European right-wing parties. Having failed to cooperate in the European Parliament, Le Pen sought in the mid-1990s to initiate contacts with other far-right parties, including from non-EU countries. The FN drew most support in Central and Eastern Europe, and Le Pen even visited the Turkish Welfare Party. The significant Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) refused to join the efforts, as Jörg Haider sought to distance himself from Le Pen, and later attempted to build a separate group. Since 2009, the FN has been part of the Alliance of European National Movements. Along with some other European parties, the FN in 2010 visited Japan's Issuikai movement and the Yasukuni Shrine.

At a conference in 2011, the two new leaders of the FN and the FPÖ announced deeper cooperation between their parties. In opposition to some members of the EANM and part of their views, Marine Le Pen as new president of the Front National joined the European Alliance for Freedom in October 2011. A pan-European sovereignist platform founded late 2010 and recognized by the European Parliament. The EAF has individual members linked to the Austrian Freedom Party of Heinz-Christian Strache, the British UKIP of Nigel Farage, and other movements such as the Sweden Democrats, Vlaams Belang (Belgian Flanders) and from Malta, Germany (Burger in Wut), Slovakia (SNS), etc.

The FN has some links to individuals from the Republican Party] in the United States. During her visit to the United States, Marine Le Pen met two US Representatives, Joe Walsh, who is known for his strong stance against Islamic extremism and three-time presidential candidate Ron Paul, whom Le Pen complimented for his stance on the gold standard.