After three chaotic months in office, marked by hostile and threatening declarations toward Europe, Donald Trump still has some allies among the French far right. Is Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National (RN) party still one of them? The party has hesitated, praising his movement's substance but criticizing its style, although several shades of Trumpism coexist within the RN's ranks. Yet, for many European populists, the US president has increasingly come to represent an awkward ally, as he has been putting some of their ideas into practice with highly varied levels of success: Protectionism, rapprochement with Russia, skepticism towards multilateralism, state xenophobia, and transgressive decisions.

MP Jean-Philippe Tanguy, Le Pen's chief economic adviser, has a clear stance on the issue: "Donald Trump casts populism in a negative light. I've always thought he was toxic and that we needed to distance ourselves, explain how we differ." However, he admitted that his view is in the minority within the far-right party.

Indeed, gone are the days when Le Pen would cite Trump as an example, particularly regarding increased tariffs on China, aimed at rebalancing the US trade deficit: "I would like France to do the same with Germany," she had said, in 2018.

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