The far-right in Europe is rapidly rising, with France’s Sarah Knafo emerging as a notable figure alongside Marine Le Pen. Knafo, leader of the Reconquest party, previously gained attention after attending Donald Trump’s inauguration with party chief Eric Zemmour. Emphasizing a pro-business stance paired with strong national identity defense, Knafo supports aggressive immigration policies and favors tech advancements, contrasting with Le Pen’s cautious approach. While Le Pen aims for a presidential run in 2027, Knafo aligns closely with U.S. leaders and is reshaping her party’s image to appeal to voters. Both parties have proposed mass deportations to preserve French identity.
Paris, France:
The rise of Europe’s far-right is occurring at an extraordinary pace. With Italy already secured and Germany poised to follow suit in its upcoming elections, France is also making strides. While Marine Le Pen continues to be a leading figure in the French far-right, another young woman is quickly rising to prominence.
Sarah Knafo, a key leader of the far-right nationalist party Reconquest, came into the spotlight after she and her party head, Eric Zemmour, received invitations to Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.
At just 31, Ms. Knafo is becoming a prominent voice for France’s far-right factions, known for her admiration of Trump’s electoral strategies and her support for Elon Musk’s perspective on Europe.
Marine Le Pen, age 56, also sent three representatives from her party – the National Rally (RN) – to the Trump inauguration. However, she opted not to attend in person. The last time she attempted to meet Trump in 2017, he famously did not show up when she visited Trump Tower in New York.
During this year’s Trump inauguration, Knafo was spotted not only at the US Capitol for the oath ceremony but also received invites to the Capital One Arena and the Liberty Ball in Washington DC that evening, which she attended alongside Eric Zemmour.
The Reconquest party holds strong anti-Islam views, advocating for a complete nationwide ban on the name Mohammad, along with several stringent laws proposed to “effectively tackle” the spread of Islam in France.
Now stepping out from the shadow of 66-year-old Zemmour, Knafo seeks to merge the approaches of Donald Trump and Elon Musk to attract voters in France. In contrast to Le Pen, who is seen by her party as a potential President in 2027 and remains cautious about her associations with Trump and Musk due to their unpopularity in Europe, Knafo openly embraces her connections with these US leaders as she aims to lead her party forward.
Unlike Le Pen, who wants to safeguard her hard-earned progress across France, Knafo’s party, which captured 7 percent of the vote share in the last French presidential election, is adopting a distinctly different strategy.
In an interview with Reuters, Sarah Knafo stated, “Reconquest is the only party in France that supports this combination: pro-tech, pro-business, while also defending national identity.” Known for her capitalist perspective, she believes that being pro-business and pro-tech is essential to prevent a socialist France from falling behind.
Similar to Trump, Knafo’s party has proposed mass deportations of migrants to “preserve French identity.” She has chosen to align her party with the emerging political landscape across the Atlantic. Although she acknowledges that Trump’s techno-conservatism may be challenging to sell in a predominantly welfare-minded France, she is confident that Trump would favor her over Le Pen if necessary.
While Le Pen’s party has focused on disassociating from its racist and anti-Semitic elements to gain traction, Knafo argues that “the de-demonization aspect is contrary to what Trump advocates.” “He (Trump) does not have much respect for it,” she added.
Le Pen also intends to deport migrants if her party wins the presidential election in France, claiming her party is “the best positioned in France to engage with the Donald Trump administration” on this issue. She pointed to how the US pressured Colombia to accept deported migrants—an approach she aims to replicate in France if she becomes President in 2027.
Sarah Knafo is an alumna of France’s esteemed ENA administrative college, the same institution from which President Emmanuel Macron graduated. She is skilled in technology and fintech and is recognized as a crypto enthusiast.
Knafo’s connection to Donald Trump and Elon Musk strengthened after Jacob Helberg, a Parisian tech executive nominated by Trump to be the top economist at the State Department, noticed her speech in Brussels. He recently invited her to the US for the Miami memorial of Hamas’ October 7 terror attack on Israel, where she met with Trump just before the US elections last year.
Her second meeting with Trump occurred after his inauguration. While in the US, she also connected with crypto billionaire Michael Saylor, during which they discussed “the upcoming French elections.”
Ms. Knafo recounted how Trump contacted her party leader Eric Zemmour in 2022 regarding his views on Islam and migration. “Don’t give up,” Knafo recalled Trump urging Zemmour during a well-publicized 2022 call. “Now you’re visible, all the media will be against you. They’ll say you’re too brutal, too radical. Don’t listen to them. Don’t engage with the media. Speak directly to the people.”
(Inputs from Reuters)