Ex-Trump aide Bannon tells Le Pen rally to wear 'racist' tag like 'badge of honour'
"You're part of a worldwide movement bigger than France, bigger than Italy," Mr Bannon tells the enthusiastic audience.
Sunday 11 March 2018 08:17, UK
Donald Trump's former adviser Steve Bannon has appeared alongside French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, telling her supporters to wear assertions they are "racist" as a "badge of honour".
To roaring applause, the former White House chief strategist told Front National supporters "history is on our side".
He told the party congress: "Let them call you racist. Let them call you xenophobes. Let them call you nativists. Wear it as a badge of honour."
Mr Bannon was speaking in Lille as part of a Europe-wide tour.
The appearance comes after Ms Le Pen's crushing defeat to independent, pro-globalisation candidate Emmanuel Macron in last year's presidential race.
His remarks may have threatened the Front National's efforts to re-brand itself, with Mr Bannon also endorsing Ms Le Pen's more hard-line niece - Marion Marechal-Le Pen.
"You're part of a worldwide movement bigger than France, bigger than Italy," added Mr Bannon, who denounced central banks, central governments and "crony capitalists".
His European visit had centred on last weekend's election in Italy, which he called "an earthquake" after populist and anti-immigration parties outperformed traditional parties.
"History is on our side," said the former Breitbart News chairman, who hailed Ms Le Pen's politics as no longer about left and right but nationalists and globalists.
He said he was travelling in order to learn after giving his first speech in Zurich earlier in the week.
His tour comes after he was dumped by the White House last year and contributed to Michael Wolff's controversial Trump book, Fire And Fury.
Ms Le Pen defended inviting the former White House aide and said it was important to hear from the man who was "the architect of Donald Trump's victory".
She said he had written about globalisation, protectionism and giving regular people power "practically illegally captured by the elite".
Front National is set to unveil a new name, leadership structure and bylaws at the two-day congress.
Ms Le Pen told France's Le Figaro newspaper: "We're at a turning point... don't bury us."