A U.S. State Department delegation met with senior officials from France's National Rally (RN) in late May, but their offer to publicly support figurehead Marine Le Pen after a court barred her from office was rebuffed by the far-right party, two sources said.
Le Pen, one of the most prominent figures of the European far right, was a front-runner for the 2027 French presidential election before a court in March banned her from the contest after she was convicted of embezzling EU funds. U.S. President Donald Trump and other right-wing leaders were quick to rally behind her, alleging political censorship.
The U.S. delegation that visited Paris was led by Samuel Samson, an official at the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL). He is part of an influx of young conservatives rising up the ranks of Trump's administration.
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