French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his protest to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call regarding the interference of ministers in Netanyahu's government in the French parliamentary elections. The American news site "Axios" reported that Macron's protest came during a call with Netanyahu last week, citing two sources familiar with the details of the conversation.
In the weeks leading up to the European Parliament elections and the French parliamentary elections, Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli from Netanyahu's Likud party publicly expressed support for the far-right party of Marine Le Pen. Macron's complaint during the conversation with Netanyahu indicated that the French government was aware of Chikli's comments and sought to ease tensions between the two countries.
Chikli, who also serves as the minister responsible for combating anti-Semitism, maintains ties to far-right parties in Europe, such as the National Rally party in France. In late May, just days before the European Parliament elections, Chikli attended a conference for far-right parties in Europe and took a photo with Le Pen, the National Rally leader in the 2022 French presidential elections, which she lost to Macron. Chikli then tweeted praising Le Pen and criticizing Macron.
On July 1, just days before the French parliamentary elections, Chikli stated on Israeli radio that he believed if Le Pen were to become president of France, "it would be good for Israel," adding that Netanyahu "thinks like him." According to Axios, one day after Chikli's interview, Macron called Netanyahu, discussing the war in Gaza and tensions in Lebanon, but the French president "also raised the issue of Chikli's comments."
Sources familiar with the conversation indicated that Macron complained to Netanyahu about the interference of Israeli government officials in the French parliamentary elections, confirming that "this is unacceptable." The sources noted that Netanyahu told Macron he had instructed all government ministers not to speak publicly about the French parliamentary elections. However, despite Netanyahu's promise to Macron, Chikli continued to publicly discuss the matter and praise Le Pen again in the following days.
