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| Leader of the French far-right National Rally Marine Le Pen, left and lead candidate of the party for the upcoming European election Jordan Bardella during a political meeting Sunday |
Marine Le Pen's National Rally party has won a landslide victory in the first round of the country's sudden legislative elections, handing a significant blow to French President Emmanuel Macron.Le Pen's far-right party is expected to win approximately 34% of the vote, while Macron's centrist Renaissance party and its allies would receive approximately 22%.
French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen's National Rally party has won a landslide victory in the first round of the country's snap parliamentary elections, striking a major blow to President Emmanuel Macron.
According to pollsters, Le Pen's far-right party is expected to win approximately 34% of the vote, while Macron's centrist Renaissance party and its partners would receive approximately 22%, finishing third.
The New Popular Front, an alliance of left-wing parties, garnered approximately 29% of the vote.
The two-round election will now conclude with a runoff on July 7 between the leading parties in each constituency.
Though there is no clear indication of who will win, the National Rally is expected to become the largest party in the French National Assembly, the lower chamber of parliament.
Who is Marine Le Pen?
Marine Le Pen joined the party, then known as the National Front, in 1986. Her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, formed the National Front nearly 50 years ago. During World War II, her father served in the Waffen-SS's French division.
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In 2015, Le Pen expelled her own father from the party after he stated that the Nazi death chambers were a "detail of history."
She subsequently renamed the party "National Rally" and appointed eloquent political leader Jordan Bardella as her pupil and party president.
Notably, Le Pen, who was known for her harsh positions on a variety of subjects, tempered her stance. This included her prior calls to leave the European Union.
Mr. Bardella, her protégé, is smooth-talking and difficult to ruffle. She also dropped some of her more extreme positions, including a call to leave the European Union.
Le Pen has long been a contender in French presidential elections.
She advanced to the second round of both the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, where she faced off against Macron.
France to vote in an election that might put the far right in power.
Despite modifying her attitude, Le Pen is recognised for her extreme approach to immigration, arguing for stringent border controls and a reduction in the number of immigrants permitted into France.
Her party also wants a ban on Muslim women wearing head scarves in public.
She also supported France's withdrawal from NATO's integrated command.
Le Pen has also encountered numerous legal issues and disputes over her tenure.
She was charged with spreading violent images in 2018 after posting photos of ISIS atrocities on social media.
Her party has also faced scrutiny for its financial activities and possible misuse of EU funding.