Marine Le Pen, the former leader of France's Rassemblement National (RN), accepted an invitation from her "friend" Matteo Salvini, the head of Italy's Northern League, to

visit Pontida, near Bergamo, Italy, on Sunday, September 17, just ahead of the June European elections. This visit underscores the strong political alignment between the two leaders and highlights the RN's preferences in Italy, creating confusion within the country's ruling coalition.

Le Pen had previously held an annual rally in Beaucaire, southern France, where she announced her participation in the Pontida event. The Northern League has been promoting autonomy since 1990, but today it champions radical right-wing populism.

Some may wonder why Marine Le Pen attended instead of Jordan Bardella, the front-runner for the RN in the upcoming European elections. The RN clarified that the invitation was extended to Marine Le Pen due to their stronger friendship and political connection. It was mentioned that Bardella and Salvini had exchanged views via videoconference in July, and Bardella had a private meeting with Salvini in April. Despite being relatively unknown in France, Bardella has been active in his family's home country and frequently travels there. Photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen, Wikimedia commons.