The Islamic State has declared war on the French right-wing movement National Front led by Marine Le Pen in a statement in the latest edition of its French-language propaganda magazine Dar al-Islam.
The magazine has an image of a National Front demonstration and stated that the party, its leaders and its supporters are "pagans" and "prime targets" for attacks.
- "This is the first time that demonstrations of the National Front are presented as targets in an official document of ISIS," said Romain Caillet, an expert on Islamist issues.
ISIS video showing Eiffel Tower collapsing
In addition, the jihadist organization warned France that another attack will happen after the terrorist attacks in Paris in November. "It's not a question if we attack the French, but how and when," the text read.
After the terrorist attacks in Paris Le Pen called to "destroy Islamist extremism, ban the activities of Islamist groups, close extremist mosques and deport foreigners who preach hatred in our country, as well as illegal immigrants who have nothing to do here."
The National Front’s Vice President Louis Aliot asked the Interior Ministry to protect the party's leaders and institutions. "We are asking the Ministry to take the threat seriously to avoid the worst," he said during an interview with French radio channel RFI.
Police responded by increasing the party's security. ISIS’s threat led to harsh reactions from National Front party members, among them deputy secretary general Nicolas Bay. He used Twitter to ask French Prime Minister Manuel Valls if he was 'satisfied'. Recently Valls spoke harshly against the National Front and called on the party to abandon racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric.
In December, Le Pen was summoned for questioning after she tweeted a picture of ISIS’s atrocities in response to a reporter that compared the party’s extremism to that of the terrorist organization. Prime Minister Valls said that the publication of those photographs was a "shameful" act designed for political profit..