French far-right party files lawsuit against Qatar

France’s far-right National Front party has announced that it intends to file a lawsuit against Qatar in response to lawsuit filed by the Gulf state against the party earlier this week.

Party leader Marie Le Pen said in remarks to a local TV channel that her party intends to file the lawsuit against the state of Qatar in the coming days, saying: “What can we do? If Qatar filed a lawsuit against us, we will file one against it, and show how Qatar provides financial support for terrorist organisations.”

Le Pen claimed that she has conclusive evidence to prove her claims, but she will only disclose them before the Court.

“French intelligence reports confirm Qatar’s support for terrorist organisations, and all the intelligence agencies in the world know this,” she added.

Qatar filed a lawsuit against the French National Front party after deputy party leader Florian Philippot accused Qatar and Saudi Arabia of “funding an Islamism that kills” during a radio interview aired on 9 January.

“Mr Philippot has repeatedly and publicly implied a link between these terrorist acts and the State of Qatar, affecting the reputation of Qatar and all its citizens,” the Gulf state said in a statement distributed by its Paris embassy.

Qatari authorities said on Monday that they “hired well-known French lawyers to file the lawsuit against the party.”