French presidential election 2017: Le Pen steps down as leader of National Front party
Marine Le Pen announced she is stepping down as the leader of the National Front party. The far-right candidate made her decision public just a day after she reached the second round of the French Presidential Elections, facing Emmanuel Macron.
In an announcement on the live prime time France 2 television news broadcast the 48-year-old said: “It is essential to take leave of the National Front, and this evening I am no longer the president of the National Front. I am the candidate for the French presidency.”
However, Le Pen explained the move to step aside would be a temporary one.
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She told France 2 that France was approaching a “decisive moment”.
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The presidential candidate said her decision had been made out of the “profound conviction” that the president must bring together all of the French people.
The move is considered an attempt to distance herself from certain controversial elements in her party and appeal to a wider range of voters. Political analysts point out the decision to distance
herself from the National Party shows she is trying to reach out for the voters of the candidates defeated in the first round, especially those of the Republicans’ Francois Fillon.
After the first round of elections, centrist Emmanuel Macron was in first place with 23% of the vote, with Le Pen close behind on 21.6%, according to early results.
Francois Fillon was in third place on 19%, neck-and-neck with socialist candidate Jean-Luc Melanchon.
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