The meeting is further proof that her far-right party, National Rally, has become a movement accepted by the mainstream and is no longer isolated by the business world.
According to a high-ranking activist of the National Union and two managers representing companies present at the meeting, the dinner was also attended by, among others: Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies, and several other heads of companies listed in the main French stock index CAC40.
The National Union did not respond to a request for comment. An LVMH spokesman declined to comment, and a representative of the energy company Engie, whose president was also expected to be present, said the company's policy was to meet with representatives of all political parties operating in France.
For years, the French business elite was very wary of the populist party, which repeatedly changed its mind on key economic issues, such as membership in the euro zone. In 2017, Arnault supported President Emmanuel Macron against Le Pen and has until now refused to meet with National Rally leaders.
But with Le Pen and National Rally leader Jordan Bardella leading in polls ahead of next year's presidential elections, executives of big companies are trying to build relationships with far-right leaders to influence a party whose economic vision is often at odds with their interests.
Pouyanné already in January called for business to talk to both the far right and the radical left France Untamed “to bring some realism to the chaotic political debate.”
According to the weekly “Le Nouvel Obs”, which first reported about the meeting, the dinner took place at the exclusive Drouant restaurant in Paris. “Le Nouvel Obs” claims that more than a dozen CEOs were present at the dinner, including
- Engie CEO Catherine MacGregor,
- Sébastien Bazin from the Accor hotel chain,
- Cyrille Bolloré, son of conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré,
- and Henri de Castries, former president of the AXA insurance company.
