PARIS — Throughout her years in politics, foreign relations have not been the strong suit of French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, who face a run off with incumber President Emmanuel Macron on April 24.

Addressing the press on April 14 to expose her foreign relations guidelines, the head of the far-right National Rally party dedicated more than 20 minutes of the one-hour-long session to explaining how she sees future relations between France and the Middle East.

Le Pen faces an uphill battle when it comes to defining her foreign policy outlook. French President Emmanuel Macron has been active in foreign policy during his nearly five years as president. In particular he has carved out his own roles within NATO and the European Union, and taken a special interest in Lebanon and the Middle East more broadly. Macron was the first Western head of state to visit Beirut following the devastating port explosion in August of 2020 and is deeply engaged in the reconstruction efforts. He has also worked with Saudi Arabia last year on a joint initiative to end the diplomatic row between Beirut and several Gulf states. 

France is also a member of the P5+1 countries in negotiations with Iran on resuming the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).