French hard-left union condemns EDF CEO for meeting far-right leaders

French hard-left union ​CGT on Tuesday condemned nuclear ‌utility EDF's ​CEO Bernard Fontana for meeting with far-right leaders Marine Le Pen and Sarah Knafo.

Le Pen is ‌currently leading opinion polls ahead of next year's presidential election after years spent trying to shed her party's racist image and broaden its appeal. "When representatives of far-right ‌parties... are officially received by the management of our company, this cannot ‌be considered a neutral or innocuous act," the CGT said in an open letter to Fontana.

EDF said it maintains regular dialogue with all its stakeholders, regardless of their perspectives or viewpoints. "Regarding ⁠presidential ​candidates specifically, EDF ⁠is open to meeting with any candidate who wishes to do so, irrespective of political party ⁠affiliation," a spokesperson said.

For years, French blue-chip companies largely avoided contact with Le Pen's National ​Rally (RN). But with opinion polls indicating it could win the election, some ⁠are now trying to better understand and influence its populist economic agenda. Le Pen made inroads ⁠with ​business leaders in April when she hosted an informal dinner for off-the-record discussions.

The CGT's criticism came a day after the RN's second in command, ⁠Jordan Bardella, said he had filed a defamation lawsuit against investigative website Mediapart ⁠over a report ⁠alleging he made antisemitic remarks in private messages more than a decade ago. Bardella said the story was an effort to "destabilise" campaigning ‌ahead of ‌the election.