Marine Le Pen, leader of the French National Rally party (previously the National Front), has announced her intention to run for president of France in the 2022 election.
Marine Le Pen ran for president in the previous election in 2017, where in the first round of voting she came 2nd with 21.3% of the vote, with her main opponent, Emmanuel Macron winning 24.0%.
In the 2nd round of voting she won 33.9% of the vote losing to Macron who won 66.1%.
Le Pen’s hopes of victory this time around were boosted by a poll from March of this year which saw her running only slightly behind Macron. In a head-to-head with Macron she was polling at around 48% and Macron at 52%.
Le Pen is famous for having taken control of the National Front party from her father, and then transforming the party from one associated with neo-fascism and monarchism to a mainstream party in French politics.
Image by jacqueline macou from Pixabay