French far-right chief says Assad solution to Syria crisis
French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen on Monday called Syrian President Bashar Assad "the most reassuring solution for France," a major divergence with her nation's official policy.
Le Pen, head of the anti-immigration National Front, spoke after meetings with Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. They were among numerous officials, including the Christian Maronite patriarch, that Le Pen was meeting on her two-day visit to Lebanon, a former French protectorate.
The trip represented the first major foray into foreign policy for Le Pen, a leading candidate in France's April 23 and May 7 election.
She said she told Hariri that there is "no viable and workable solution" to the Syrian civil war beyond choosing between Assad and the Islamic State group.
"I clearly explained that in the political picture the least bad option is the politically realistic. It appears that Bashar al Assad is evidently today the most reassuring solution for France."
