Madonna and Marine Le Pen agree to meet for political summit

Madonna made the offer live on a French TV news show on Monday

John Lichfield
Tuesday 03 March 2015 17:17 GMT
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Madonna and Marine Le Pen have agreed to 'have a drink'
Madonna and Marine Le Pen have agreed to 'have a drink'

Two of the globe’s most prominent women, the pop singer Madonna and the French far right leader Marine Le Pen, are to meet to discuss their divergent political views.

Ms Le Pen has accepted an invitation from Madonna to “have a drink” with the American singer and explain her beliefs “from her own mouth”.

Madonna made the offer live on a French TV news show on Monday night a few days after she described Ms Le Pen’s Front National party as “fascist”. In 2012, the pop star’s stage show included a brief video clip of Ms Le Pen with a swastika superimposed on her forehead.

On the Canal Plus evening news, Madonna gave a prolonged and passionate hug and kiss to Luz, one of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists who survived the jihadist attack on the satirical magazine on January.

Asked about her previous attacks on Ms Le Pen and the Front National, she said: “What I want is peace in the world. My first thought about Marine Le Pen is that I would like to meet her and talk to her and hear from her own mouth, right in my own ears, what she believes in.”

Ms Le Pen, who has brought the far right to its most popular level in French opinion polls, today agreed to a meeting with the American singer.

“I accept Madonna’s invitation with pleasure," she said. “I admire people who are willing to demonstrate good faith.”

In a French radio interview last week, Madonna said that the present political mood in France reminded her of “Nazi Germany".

France used to be a “a country that embraced everyone and encouraged freedom in every way, shape or form – artistic expression of freedom,” she said. “Now that's completely gone.”

Madonna went on to complain that she had received “a lot of criticism and threats” from the “fascist” National Front and its leader “Marie (sic) Le Pen”.

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