Following the strong showing by France’s right-wing party led by Marine Le Pen, many French Jews are breaking with the past and endorsing Le Pen, fearing far-left antisemitism is a worst-case scenario.
The result of the first round of the snap elections Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) with 33.1% of the vote, the left-wing alliance at 28%, and the Macron camp at 20.76%.
The far-right in France has a strong anti-immigration stance, which has traditionally made Jewish voters uneasy.
However, in the climate of anti-Israel riots by the French left, many French Jews are unsure of how to vote in elections or may consider breaking with tradition and casting a vote for Le Pen.
“I never imagined voting for the National Rally [of Le Pen] to curb antisemitism,” said Alain Finkielkraut, a liberal Jew and a well-respected French philosopher.
Serge Klarsfeld, a Nazi hunter and Holocaust historian said, “I would have no hesitation, I would vote for the National Rally.”
