“A Woman of the State”. This is the slogan by which Marine Le Pen seeks to remove the brand of high leader make a cool image where he seeks to make a difficult comeback this Sunday to snatch the Elysee from the current president of France, Emmanuel Macron.

The long -awaited debate on Wednesday showed that Le Pen learned lessons from his predecessor to Macron on the occasion of the 2017 presidential elections.

Instead of being aggressive and restless, sent calm and serenity. His tone of voice rose slightly. He avoided “ad-hominem” arguments, although he could not help but assume the radical nature of some of his proposals, such as banning the Islamic veil in all public spaces.

Obsessed for years with removing his last name from his father’s legacy, Jean-Marie, a furious anti-immigration politician and founder of the National Front (FN), the most right-wing candidate is worked hard to form the image of a “protection. mother of the Republic”.

In the first round of the campaign, he was better recognized by voters as the standard bearer of citizens not meeting the need, before that as leader of anti-immigration, eurosceptic and pro-Putin. In his social message, he qualified for the presidential final with 23%, nearly 5 points lower than Macron.

Changes

In the absence of confirmation whether the slogan “Women of the State” will work to convince voters, her efforts to soften your image in recent years.

In 2018, he changed the name of his party, from National Front to National Group; he abandoned his plan to leave the euro after the big defeat against Macron in 2017 and dedicated himself to talking about the economic hardship of ordinary Frenchmen, rather than foreigners. A bet with results.

According to polls, the French judge who is the National Association candidate is “more aware of French concerns” than Macron.

In relation to its historic landmark, immigration, it maintains radicalism in restricting subsidies to foreigners such as unemployment and the amendment of the Constitution to include “national preference”.

obstacle course

Le Pen has overcome several hurdles in recent months. His party’s economic difficulties — he had to pay off a huge debt to a bank in Russia — joined the division of the far -right field in the disruption of talk show host Éric Zemmour, who attracted important people like his nephew who Marion Marechal, granddaughter of Jean- Marie Le Pen and representative of the National Front between 2012-2017.

“Every time I fall, I get up. I’m not afraid of ambushes or betrayals,” Le Pen summed up at a campaign rally.

Another obstacle was overcome the Ukrainian war. As Zemmour sank into the polls for his old admirable statements to Russian President Vladimir Putin, he fought hard, despite the fact that many remember the photo in which he received, smiling, at the Kremlin before the 2017 elections. .

To break away from the image of complacency with the Russian president, Le Pen supported France to open its arms to all Ukrainians fleeing their country.

Family history

Marine Le Pen, the youngest of three daughters of Jean-Marie Le Pen and Pierrette Lalanne, grew up west of Paris, in a bourgeois and Catholic environment.

Traumatized by the attack on his father in 1976 – an explosion in which he and his family emerged unscathed – he said he entered politics by accident.

After practicing law between 1992 and 1998, he helped his father reach the second round of 2002 – leaving socialist Lionel Jospin in the gutter – and facing Jacques Chirac. Since then, Le Pen has chained public positions and took FN’s reins in 2011.

in 2015 expelled own father for not retrieving some statements that relativized the Nazi gas chambers, although years later they reconciled. In 2017 he also removed his right arm, Florian Philippot, supporter of the failed project to leave the euro.

Mother of three children and separated, she recalled in some deeds her bad conscience for not being with her as much as she wanted.

Source: EFE

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