Israeli Ambassador to France Joshua Zarka hosted National Rally leader Marine Le Pen on Wednesday after Jerusalem ended its boycott of the right-wing politician, the Jewish state’s mission in Paris told local media.
Zarka “discreetly” met with Le Pen, the embassy confirmed to the Le Parisien newspaper. The meeting was not announced through official diplomatic channels.

Le Pen in recent days also sat down with Lebanon’s ambassador to Paris, Rabih El Chaer. France administrated Lebanon as a mandate from 1923 to 1945, and has since been a major player in that nation’s political and economic arenas.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter told JNS on Tuesday that Jerusalem prefers “to keep the French as far away as possible from pretty much everything, but particularly when it comes to peace negotiations,” speaking during a press briefing that followed direct talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials in Washington, D.C.