A senior European Parliament election candidate for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) has lashed out at the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, denouncing its political standpoint on migration as “toxic” and “counterproductive”.
In an exclusive interview with Brussels Signal due to be published on June 5, Malika Sorel — who is second on RN’s EU elections list — lambasted her former AfD colleagues in Europe following their expulsion from the Identity and Democracy (ID) group last month.
Speaking on the political divorce, Sorel compared the AfD to RN’s French rival Reconquête, taking particular issue with its alleged attitude towards migrants
“The AfD strategy and that of Reconquête in France are totally counterproductive and I would even say toxic in many respects,” she said.
She attacked the German party over what she described as its valuing of “ethnicity, race and religion” rather than cultural norms, adding it was wrong to blame migrants for Europe’s current difficulties.
“If Europe is now in a situation which puts its own survival in danger, as a civilisation, it is primarily due to the fault of Europeans of Western origin,” the politician claimed.
“Migrants and their descendants are only seizing the opportunities given to them to disrespect European cultural heritage on European soil.”
Sorel stated that many migrants were working to save the West, and that the Right must differentiate between arrivals who want to uphold Western values and those who want to replace them.
“Today, we are faced with a situation where children of immigration, like me and many others, are committed to the West when Westerners betray the West and work to destroy it,” she claimed.
“The approach based on ethnicity, race and religion is not the right one.
“The line must pass between those who defend the survival of the West and those who work to weaken and destroy it.”
NEW: The Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament has expelled the Alternative for Germany party after a controversy involving its European Parliament election list leader Maximilian Krah. https://t.co/DDdhSZ90zn
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 23, 2024
Responding to the claims, Nicolas Bay MEP, of Reconquête, lashed out at Sorel for trying to link his group with the AfD, saying it was RN that had previously shared a European group with the Germans.
“[She] seems to forget that, until recently, it was the RN that was an ally of the AfD,” the MEP told Brussels Signal.
“As for us, we belong to the European Conservatives and Reformists [ECR], a pivotal group, of which many government parties are members, which will be central to recomposing the European Right.
“It makes you wonder which party is ‘toxic’,” he added.
Bay went on to highlight what he called Sorel’s closeness to French President Emmanuel Macron, describing her as having “just a few months ago beg[ed] Mr Macron for a ministry”.
“I’m not sure she’s well placed to give lessons about toxicity,” he said.
Regarding the issue of ethnicity, Bay said that Reconquête strongly valued the contribution of French people of migrant descent.
“Obviously, people of immigrant background can assimilate perfectly well and defend France, Europe and the West with passion. Nobody denies that,” he said.
“The chairman of our party, Eric Zemmour, is an example of this and he has always said so. It is bold of Ms Sorel to forget this.”
This, he added, did not preclude Reconquête from speaking against the demographic substitution of ethnic French people with migrant groups – a process he termed the “great replacement”.
“France, like all European countries, is above all a historical and cultural reality founded on an indigenous people,” he said.
“For France to remain France, the French people must remain French. Immigrants can assimilate individually but, if our population becomes predominantly Arab-African, our country will no longer be France.
“Similarly, to save European civilisation, it must first and foremost remain European. That’s why the Great Replacement is a major issue and a major challenge,” he concluded.
The AfD was also approached for comment but as of writing none had been received.
We asked the former director of Frontex and National Rally EU election candidate @FabriceLeggeri why he thinks he's being targeted after he was accused by left-wing NGOs of being complicit in crimes against humanity.
This was his response⬇️#CPACHungary2024 pic.twitter.com/AhtwdOrapf
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 25, 2024
