Standing on hay in front of two imposing Normandy cows on display at the Paris Agriculture Show on Wednesday, February 28, Marine Le Pen effectively poured several tonnes of manure on relations between the Rassemblement National (RN) and its ally Alternative for Germany (AfD). Two sentences sent on letterhead were all it took for the leader of the French far right to tell AfD co-president Alice Weidel what she thought of her explanation concerning the controversy that had been sparked by a meeting attended by several AfD officials, at which the issue of a massive "remigration" plan had been raised: "First of all, let me tell you that I didn't appreciate finding [this letter] in the press before I'd even received it. Second, it seems to me that there are still a number of unanswered questions."

The statement, which did not attempt to disguise Le Pen's exasperation, seems to have put in jeopardy any possibility of reconciliation between the two parties. In recent days, the RN has been deferring to a future executive committee meeting a decision on whether it should maintain its alliance with the AfD, whose extremism has in recent weeks sparked demonstrations on an unprecedented scale across Germany.

At the root of this effort is an article published on January 10 by German investigative outlet Correctiv, revealing that a secret meeting was held on November 25, 2023, in Potsdam, near Berlin. AfD officials met with representatives of the neo-Nazi movement to discuss a large-scale deportation project targeting foreigners and Germans of foreign origin.

Presented by Martin Sellner, founder of the Identitarian Movement of Austria and an influential figure among the German-speaking radical right, this "remigration" plan would imply "tailor-made laws" to "put strong pressure" on "unassimilated German citizens." Its implementation would require a "model state" in North Africa, where up to 2 million people would be "displaced," including "individuals who assist refugees in Germany."

The AfD's explanation of this meeting, which was transmitted in the form of a letter to the press on February 27, is expected to be the topic of discussion at the RN's upcoming executive committee meeting. Although she is no longer the party president or a representative of the party in the European Parliament, Le Pen seems to have already made her assessment of this missive, pointing merely to supposed journalistic manipulation and translation errors. Without renouncing the principle of "remigration," Weidel asserted that this term "simply means the application of existing laws in Germany and is, for us, also linked to local help in the countries of origin."

You have 62.73% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.