MARINE Le Pen, former leader of France’s far-right National Front party, is one of the contenders running to become the country’s next president.
Will she be able to win against presidential rival Emmanuel Macron during the 2022 election?
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Who is Marine Le Pen?
Marine Le Pen, born in 1968, is the former leader of France’s National Front (FN), taking the helm from her father and the party’s founder Jean-Marie after he stepped down five years ago.
Le Pen herself stepped down as party leader in 2017, announcing at the time that she would temporarily “take leave” ahead of the presidential election face-off.
It was seen as a surprise move that was interpreted as an attempt to woo the moderate voters she would have needed to win the French presidency back then.
She is the youngest of three sisters and survived a bomb attack on her family home – reportedly carried out by enemies of her outspoken father – when she was just eight years old.
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In 1992, she graduated with a Master’s degree in Criminal Law from the University of Paris and began working as a public defender.
Three years later, she married a fellow party member, Franck Chauffroy.
The pair later divorced.
She and Chauffroy have three children together: Jehanne, and twins Louis and Mathilde.
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What were the French election results in 2017?
Growing resentment at the EU and fears over immigration saw Le Pen soar in the polls during the 2017 election.
However, she lost out to pro-European centrist Emmanuel Macron in the final duel for the French presidency.
After FN surprisingly topped the polls in the 2016 European elections, Le Pen hoped to be elected her country’s first female – and far-right – president.
Nonetheless, opponent Emmanuel Macron remained the favorite with polls after their final debate showing 63 percent of people interviewed found Macron the most convincing versus 34 percent for Le Pen.
The polls were correct and Macron won 65.5 percent of the votes – way over the 50 percent required in the final round of the election that left France bitterly divided.
Is Marine Le Pen running for President in 2022?
On April 24, 2022, French leaders Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are set to face off in the final vote for the French presidency.
So far, Macron is first with 28.1-29.5 percent of the vote, with Le Pen following close by with 23.3-24.4 percent.
It has been reported that voter turnout for this year’s election was 4 percent lower than in 2017.
What are Marine Le Pen’s policies?
In 2017, Le Pen introduced her 144 “commitments” to the French people if she won the election, including:
- A possible Frexit, having praised Britain’s Brexit
- Lowering taxes and increasing welfare payments for the working class
- Cutting migration by 80 percent to 10,000 people a year
- Making it more difficult to become a French citizen
- Ending access to free basic healthcare for illegal migrants
- Reinstating border checks and expelling foreigners on the watch lists of intelligence services
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In the past, she has shown sympathies toward Russia and President Vladimir Putin but is now trying to distance herself from the country amid the war in Ukraine.
Unlike her last run for candidacy, Le Pen is no longer campaigning on an exit from the European Union in 2022.
