The politician is in favor of AfD joining the union, should the new group of EU-critical parties be established in the near future, he told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
"You do not have to like the FN, but the moment might come when you will have to say: we can cooperate with the FN, even if we don't agree with everything it stands for," Gauland said.
When the party's representative Björn Höcke congratulated the National Front on its victory in the French regional elections, he was sharply criticized by the party's federal spokesman Jörg Meuthen who called the statement "wrong and inappropriate."
Last Saturday, however, Höcke again supported the French populist party and emphasized similarities between the AfD and the National Front. A couple of months ago such a statement would have led to a sharp criticism and the organization of a special party meeting on the issue. This time, however, his statement has not been met with any opposition.
"The amount of the similarities is great," said chairman of AfD Bayern Petr Bystron, adding that his faction is also willing to cooperate with other right-wing parties in Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
AfD is rapidly gaining popularity amid a deteriorating situation with refugees in Germany. The party is advocating for a stricter migration policy and proposes alternative, tough, ways to resolve the current crisis.
