Macron Accuses Israeli Minister of Election Interference
French President Emmanuel Macron accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of election interference by Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli. Macron expressed concerns over Chikli's support for Marine Le Pen's National Rally Party before the French elections. Despite Netanyahu's promises to restrain his ministers, Chikli continued to comment on French politics, instigating tensions with the third-largest Jewish community in the world.
French President Emmanuel Macron complained to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about 'unacceptable' interference in France's elections by Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli.
Chikli supported Marine Le Pen's National Rally Party before France's parliamentary elections, which led Macron's centrist coalition to partner with leftists to prevent a National Rally majority.
Netanyahu promised to restrain his ministers from commenting on French politics, but Chikli continued making statements regarding France and its Jewish community.
Despite this assurance, Israel's former foreign minister also urged French Jews to emigrate to Israel.
France hosts the world's third-largest Jewish community of around 440,000 people, and tension has heightened with the increasing Muslim immigrant population since the 1960s.