France's Le Pen refused to call events in Ukraine a 'genocide'
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French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen declined a suggestion to describe the war in Ukraine as genocide.
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French presidential candidate and leader of the right-wing National Rally party, Marine Le Pen
French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen did like Macron, and declined today to describe the war in Ukraine as "genocide".
In an interview on Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron said verbal attacks would not help further peace in Ukraine, and declined to join his US counterpart in describing Russia's actions as genocide. When asked about the characterization, he said he would "be careful with such terms" and that the peoples of Ukraine and Russia were "brothers."
The Ukrainian President commented on Macron's statements, saying these words were "very painful" for Ukraine.
The far-right politician told French broadcaster France 2 "Genocide is an extremely clear definition in legal terms, that is inconsistent with currently known facts," but also said that she understands Zelensky's reaction vis-a-vis Macron's statements.
"However, he [Zelensky] sometimes asks more from other countries than it is possible to give him," Le Pen said.
Read more: France's losing candidates: Who will they vote for?
Macron and Le Pen had led the polls during the first round of the presidential race, with a slight lead for the incumbent president, who won 28.1-29.7%, around 5% more than Le Pen's 23.3-24.7%.
The top two candidates will face each other in the second round set for April 24, projections by polling firms for French television channels said based on a sample of votes.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
