Marine Le Pen

Ljubljana – Looking at the presidential run-off in France, Delo argues in Saturday’s commentary that incumbent President Emanuel Macron is a better choice than far-right candidate Marine Le Pen

France on April 23 prepared to choose between centrist President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen to rule the country for the next five years after a bitterly contested and polarising election campaign.

President Emmanuel Macron and far-right rival Marine Le Pen on Thursday prepared for a final rush of campaigning before France's presidential election after an acrimonious debate where they clashed over relations with Russia and the Islamic headscarf.

Paris prosecutors are studying a report by the European Union's fraud agency accusing French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and other members of her nationalist party of misusing public funds while serving in the European Parliament.

"If I am elected president of France, I will pull France out of NATO," she said.
Le Pen said that the decision refers only to the military alliance, and that France will remain a member of the European Union.
"That (exiting the EU) is not my goal. At the same time, I want the evolution of that European structure," she said.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival Marine Le Pen were on April 11 preparing for two weeks of tough campaigning after they reached a run-off of presidential elections that promises to be far tighter than their encounter five years ago.

He has a full campaign team that's fanning out around France, meeting with voters. He makes speeches about his plans for the country in the upcoming years. The problem? Emmanuel Macron hasn't officially declared that he's a candidate for April's presidential election yet.

Political journalist, essayist, writer and television analyst ric Zemmour surpassed far-right doyen Marine Le Pen in popularity, according to public opinion polls on presidential candidates, currently presenting himself as the main challenger to incumbent President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the April elections.

The French far-right again failed to win a single region in elections on June 27 exit polls showed, depriving its leader Marine Le Pen of a chance to show her party is fit for power ahead of next year's presidential election.   

The party of France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen performed weaker than expected in the first round of regional elections on June 20, in a vote marked by record levels of abstention.

Early projections showed the center-right Republicans party on course to top June 20's vote, while Le Pen's National Rally undershot predictions based on voter surveys conducted last week.