Marine Le Pen: We should protect France and combat radical Islamist movements

Marine Le Pen, President of the National Front, has stressed the need for international cooperation to combat the funding of radical Islamist groups, which foster terrorism in Europe and the whole world. She has said the whole region is going through an era that requires vigilance and awareness as well as warning countries which finance radical Islamist movements such as Qatar.

"This conference is aimed at understanding the developments in the Middle East, learning about the radical groups that have recently emerged, and to delve into its outlook in the post-Daesh era and how to combat terrorism in the future," Le Pen said, noting that Dr. Abdel Rahim Ali, Chairman of the Center for Middle East Studies in Paris (CEMO), exposed the history of the Islamist groups and the future of radical Islam in the region.

The far-right leader has said radical Islamist groups, along with wrong and extremist concepts of Islam, are on the rise worldwide. She noted that all of these topics would be tackled in the conference.

"We should move to stand in the face of these radical and terrorist groups, which get finance from countries like Qatar," she said.

Le Pen has said France is facing a number of major challenges and dangers posed by radical Islamist movements which highly impact many areas such as the French suburbs, which fall under the influence of radical Islamist groups.

"We have warned of this phenomenon and wrote about it many times. We should cooperate to put an end to the funding of radical Islamist movements," she said.

The leader of the National Front has stressed the need to cooperate with Egypt in combating terrorism, citing the Arab country's long history with terrorist groups. She noted that Egypt "is fully-aware" of means and channels for funding the radical and terrorist groups.

Le Pen said France made a mistake by taking part in military strikes against Syria. "[Syrian President] Bashar is fighting radical Islam, and we fight Bashar as if we suffer from schizophrenia. This is my opinion and I said it many times… I will propose a plan comprising 40 suggestions to disband all of the radical movements in the French suburbs, and combat its growing influence in these areas," she added.

Le Pen's comments were made during a lecture by Dr. Abdel Rahim Ali, Chairman of CEMO, delivered at the French parliament. Ali's lecture focused on post-Daesh terrorism, the dangers inherent in terrorism financing, and the implications of this financing for Europe. The lecture also focused on the role the Muslim Brotherhood and its international organization play in backing terrorist activities worldwide.