Exclusive: Le Pen's far-right French party rebuffed US offer of support, sources say
PARIS, June 24 (Reuters) - A U.S. State Department delegation met with senior officials from France's National Rally (RN) in late May, but their offer to publicly support figurehead Marine Le Pen after a court barred her from office was rebuffed by the far-right party, two sources said.
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The U.S. delegation that visited Paris was led by Samuel Samson, an official at the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL). He is part of an influx of young conservatives rising up the ranks of Trump's administration.
Samson met with senior RN officials but Le Pen and her popular No. 2, party president Jordan Bardella, were not present, the two sources said. The aim, one of the sources said, was to discuss ways the Trump administration could offer public support to Le Pen, who wants to overturn her conviction.
However, the offer was declined, the two sources said. The RN officials said an endorsement from Trump's State Department could hurt the party's hopes of winning the 2027 election, one of the sources said. The RN officials also told Samson there was no need to support Le Pen as Bardella stands a good chance of winning if she cannot run, the source said.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/le-pens-far-right-french-party-rebuffed-us-offer-support-sources-say-2025-06-24/
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