Marine Le Pen's under-the-radar campaign is over

Gilles Paris - LE MONDE - 13/04
COLUMN. Now that she is face-to-face with Emmanuel Macron, Marine Le Pen cannot hide behind Eric Zemmour's outrageousness to cover up her own controversial positions, writes 'Le Monde' columnist Gilles Paris. Yesterday, she made ambitious promises on the recourse to referendums.

Hello, it's lunchtime in Paris and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen (Rassemblement National) is about to hold a much-awaited press conference on foreign affairs. She is known for her pro-Russian positions and for her hostility against the European Union and NATO. But this has not weakened her at all since the beginning of the bloody invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

What happened yesterday? For the second day in a row, Emmanuel Macon (La République en Marche) hit the campaign trail. He held a rally in Strasbourg to warn against the consequences entailed for the European Union if the far right were to arrive at the Elysée Palace.

Why does it matter? After a low-key campaign before the first round, the president showed that he seriously fears defeat. The first polls published since April 10 show him in t...
[Courte citation de 8% de l'article original]