National Front adviser's Zionist hiring is a cunning PR move - The Jewish Chronicle

Who would have thought it? Gilles-William Goldnadel, a Jewish lawyer and well-known Zionist, will represent a leading National Front politician in his upcoming legal battle against Qatar.

Mr Goldnadel, who chairs the France-Israel Association, sits on the board of the Representative Council of the French Jewish Organisations and is a member of Les Républicains, Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative party.

The affair dates back to June 1, when Qatar formally lodged a complaint against Florian Philippot - the National Front's number two and leader Marine Le Pen's chief political adviser - for "defamation".

Mr Philippot had repeatedly stated that Qatar, along with Saudi Arabia, was a key sponsor of jihadism, was "preying" on French cultural and economic assets and was "corrupting" the country's politics.

In fact, there was hardly anything sensational about his remarks: everything Mr Philippot stated had already been hinted at or debated in the mainstream media.

'It reinforces the view that this is not a semi-fascist party'

Qatar's move to sue him may backfire because it is widely seen as an attack on free expression in France.

Hiring Mr Goldnadel was clearly a smart move by Mr Philippot and the National Front. It reinforces the impression that the NF is no longer a far-right and semi-fascist party and that it can be trusted when it says that it will not countenance racism, antisemitism or attacks on Western-style democracy.

One reason why Mr Goldnadel agreed to defend Mr Philippot in court is that the latter was particularly outspoken in his criticism over recent antisemitic statements by former NF leader Jean-Marie Le Pen.

The NF also boosted its position last week when it finalised the establishment of a new group in the European Parliament.

Without such a grouping, Ms Le Pen's triumph at the 2014 European elections (it took 37 of the 74 seats allocated to France) would have been largely hollow.

By forming a parliamentary collective, the NF can access greater financial support, hire more assistants and get access to the parliament's commissions and the EU's decision-making bodies.

Such a group requires at least 25 MEPs and the involvement of at least a quarter of the total number of member states.

Ms Le Pen had been struggling to meet these requirements for months. She did not want to forge an alliance with far-right extremists like the Hungarian Jobbik party or the Greek Golden Dawn. Meanwhile, NF had been shunned by Ukip and the Swedish Democrats, which Mrs Le Pen saw as natural allies.

Eventually, NF set up the Europe of Nations and Freedom group (ENF), which includes most French NF MEPs, as well as representatives from Geert Wilders's Freedom party in the Netherlands, Vlaams Belang in Belgium, the Freedom Party in Austria, KNP in Poland and Lega Nord in Italy.

While clearly right-wing, these parties cannot be construed as antisemitic, fascistic or anti-democratic. Some are even seen as strongly pro-Israel.

Several National Front MEPs, including Jean-Marie Le Pen, have declined to join ENF. This is a further indication that the group intends to distance itself from unpalatable views.