When more than 100,000 people marched in Paris against antisemitism on Sunday, one political group joining the crowd stood out — far-right Rassemblement National supporters with their leader, Marine Le Pen.
Their appearance was all the more remarkable considering Le Pen's father, National Front founder Jean-Marie, was convicted of inciting racial hatred for saying the gas chambers used to kill Jews during the Holocaust were "merely a detail in the history of the Second World War."
The march is the most striking sign to date that Le Pen's strategy to normalize the party's image is working, taking down one more barrier in her quest for respectability and boosting her chances in future elections, analysts say.