French far-right leader Marine Le Pen accepts Madonna’s offer for a chat

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen today accepted an offer to sit down with Madonna over a drink and chat about their points of view. Madonna, who in the past has demonised Le Pen on stage by portraying her with a swastika on her head, made the unusual overture during a French TV interview Monday. “I would like to sit down and have a drink with her. I want to understand where she’s coming from,” she said on the network Canal+. The American singer, who superimposed the swastika on video of Le Pen’s face during a 2012 Paris concert, only last week called Le Pen’s National Front party “fascist”.

I accept Madonna’s invitation with pleasure.

Marine Le Pen

In the interview she conceded: “Maybe I misunderstood Marine Le Pen. I’m not sure. I don’t want to start a war. I want peace in the world.” The unusual gesture appeared an attempt to calm a confrontation with Le Pen, who’d threatened a lawsuit over the swastika stunt. Le Pen, who’s been striving to soften the image and broaden the appeal of the party she took over from her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, embraced the singer’s invitation. Madonna, 57, has rarely shied away from controversy. As recently as last week, on French radio, Madonna claimed “it feels like Nazi Germany” in Europe because “anti-Semitism is at an all-time high”.

I appreciate people who make overtures in good faith.

Marine Le Pen

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