Displaying items by tag: Marine Le Pen

On 16 January Emmanuel Macron made a notable shift to the political right during a televised press conference, signalling a change in his political stance. One week earlier, he had appointed Gabriel Attal as the youngest prime minister in French history, leading a noticeably more right-wing cabinet. The move appears to be a response to the growing challenge posed by the hard-right nationalists led by Marine Le Pen's, who are tipped to win the European elections in June. Macron emphasised the importance of instilling French republican values in schoolchildren. He proposed measures like school uniforms, learning the national anthem, civic service for 16-year-olds, and cracking down on drug gangs. He also announced policies to combat the declining birth rate, including improved access to fertility treatments and enhanced parental leave. The press conference format allowed Macron to delve into details, but it also risked portraying him as hiding a lack of substance behind torrents of words. Marine Le Pen dismissed the event as ‘yet another interminable jabber’.

France is in uncharted waters after President Emmanuel Macron lost his majority, with a large, shaky opposition bloc on the left and many more far-right lawmakers surging into the National Assembly. Just two months into his second five-year term, Macron has the narrowest majority in French political history and must govern through coalition-building. Marine Le Pen's strategy to turn her far-right party mainstream has succeeded, increasing its lawmakers almost tenfold and cementing the party's rise from fringe status to mainstream opposition. The largest opposition group can claim the privilege of chairing the National Assembly's finance committee - a strategic role because the committee's president sets the agenda, giving any opposition lawmaker determined to hamstring the majority a tool to do so. It also confers powers of inquiry, with access to tax and public spending documents usually off-limits. Marine Le Pen says she intends to lobby for this highly strategic post.

As the French presidential race heats up, WikiLeaks archives contain potentially sensitive files on the three main contenders - the republican Francois Fillon, the right-wing hardliner Marine Le Pen, and the liberal Emmanuel Macron. Most of the files cover the years between the mid-2000s and 2011 or 2012. 3,630 documents relate to centre-right presidential hopeful Fillon, whose popularity ratings have dropped recently amid the ongoing scandal over an allegation that his wife Penelope unfairly received over €900,000 (£775,000) as his ‘parliamentary assistant’. Fillon, who fiercely denies claims of wrongdoing, stated that he would quit the race if placed under formal investigation. Meanwhile Marine Le Pen, who appeals strongly to disenfranchised voters and those who feel threatened by a multicultural society, has been accused of wrongfully employing her chief of staff and her bodyguard as her assistants at the European Parliament. They might have been paid up to €350,000 (£300,000) from the parliament's funds. Fillon and Le Pen are currently almost neck and neck in the race, with Macron not far behind, according to the latest surveys.