Jean-Marie Le Pen

Marine Le Pen “National Rally” increased the number of its deputies fivefold taking from 80 to 100 seats

The relief is enormous not only in France, but also in Europe, as well as on the other side of the Atlantic, at a geopolitically critical juncture.

Emmanuel Macron prevailed over the far-right Marine Le Pen - the first President in France to secure a second term in the last 20 years.

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.

Marine Le Pen should step down as leader of France's far-right National Front (FN) after disappointing results in the presidential and parliamentary elections, her father who founded the anti-establishment party said on June 20.

Despite Marine Le Pen's drubbing in the French presidential election, her far-right National Front party expanded its footprint in the political landscape -- and confirmed its move into the mainstream. Her anti-immigrant, anti-Europe stance won a record 34 percent of ballots cast on May 7, which translates into the support of nearly 10.6 million voters.

"In 1984, Jean-Marie Le Pen said something that heralded what is happening today. He spoke of the 'Le Pen-ization' of conscience," French-Algerian writer Karim Amellal told Skai TV's "Istories" program on Tuesday while describing precisely how things came to be.

Here's how the French presidential election is going to work. This Sunday's vote will pick the leading two candidates, who will then have another two weeks to campaign for the run-off vote. But the leading four candidates are now bunched together so closely in the polls that any two of them could make it through to the second round. Including a couple of quite worrisome people.

France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen launched her presidential campaign on Feb. 4, with anti-EU and "freedom" for France messages, hoping her anti-establishment message will carry her to power later this year.

The surge in right-wing and anti-establishment sentiments due to of failed neo-liberal policies in Europe is likely to lead to EU's collapse, says Noam Chomsky.

The U.S. scholar and activist also told RT that Marine Le Pen's victory in France's presidential elections means she would likely initiate the so-called Frexit, i.e., France's departure from the EU.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder and former head of France's far-right National Front party, has been convicted of denying crimes against humanity for repeating that the Nazi gas chambers are a "detail" of World War II history.

A Paris court convicted then sentenced Le Pen on Wednesday to a 30,000 euros ($34,000) fine plus paying damages to three associations, plaintiffs in the case.