Just in:
New Nylon Constant Torque Hinge From Southco Provides Position Control In A Compact Package // Melco Style Presents “SANRIO CHARACTERS STUDIO CITY CARNIVAL” – Explore a SANRIO World of Unlimited Love and Cuteness // Emirati Aid Reaches Ukraine as Food Shortages Bite // US reiterates concern over Kejriwal arrest, Cong accounts // German Job Market Resilience Bodes Well for Economic Recovery // CABSAT 2024 Ushers in 30 Years of Media Innovation // 2024 Lok Sabha Elections Will Be The Costliest One Till Now In The Whole World // Sharjah Chamber Breaks Ground on Final Expansion with New HQ Pact // Sunshine’s Debut Features Leave Tech World Scratching Its Head // Infineon and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering jointly develop ship electrification technology // Hope for Respite as UAE Endorses UN Plea for Gaza Truce // Ingdan Announces 2023 Annual Results // Hong Kong Crypto Exchange Application Stalled by US Lawsuit // TUMI Hosts Global Launch Event in Singapore to Unveil Women’s Asra Collection and Announce Global Ambassador, Mun Ka Young // No running of govt from jail, says Delhi Lt Governor // Universal Language for Healthcare: General Authority Embraces Global Coding System // AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards // Octa seeks to clarify Forex swap and swap-free accounts // Samsung Partners National Heritage Board to Bring a Slice of Singapore’s Cultural Heritage to Samsung The Frame TV // Andertoons by Mark Anderson for Thu, 28 Mar 2024 //
HomeFT SelectMarine Le Pen embraces anti-EU first-round rival

Marine Le Pen embraces anti-EU first-round rival

4797b958 2cc7 11e7 9555 23ef563ecf9a

Marine Le Pen has agreed to team up with an anti-EU candidate who came sixth in the first round of France’s presidential election as she seeks to win votes from the centre-right in the run-off next weekend.

On Saturday Ms Le Pen announced that she would name Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, an anti-EU Gaullist and founder of the nationalist party Debout la France (Arise France), as prime minister in her government if she is elected. A day earlier Mr Dupont-Aignan, who is also mayor of the Yerres suburb of southeastern Paris, had declared that “I will support and campaign with Marine Le Pen for an expanded government.”

ADVERTISEMENT

In eight days time Ms Le Pen will face independent centrist Emmanuel Macron in the run-off to decide who will become president. Current polls suggest that Mr Macron will beat her with 60 per cent of the vote to 40 per cent for Ms Le Pen.

Striking a deal with Mr Dupont-Aignan and his party illustrates how in the final stages of the campaign Ms Le Pen is attempting to appeal to the bloc of mainstream centre-right voters who supported Republican candidate François Fillon.

Mr Dupont-Aignan came sixth in the first round of voting last weekend, with 4.7 per cent of the vote, fewer than two percentage points behind the Socialist party candidate, Benoît Hamon.

While Mr Dupont-Aignan shares Ms Len Pen’s desire to leave the euro and return to the franc, the pair maintained in a joint statement on Saturday that “the transition from the single currency to the European common currency is not a prerequisite for any economic policy”.

Ms Le Pen has recently sought to tone down her rhetoric on the party’s flagship policy of leaving the euro in an attempt to reassure centre-right voters who have savings and investments denominated in euros. These would likely plummet in value if France returned to the franc and its currency devalued.

Among centre-right voters Ms Le Pen wants to prey on their fears that Mr Macron is an heir to the deeply-unpopular Socialist president François Hollande. While Mr Macron’s year-old political movement En Marche! (On the move) professes to be neither on the left or on the right, critics have seized upon the fact that he was economy minister under Mr Hollande to paint him as a socialist.

In the past week Ms Le Pen has also become more aggressive in trying to court the far left supporters of Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the first round, and on Friday she made a direct appeal to them on Twitter to vote for her. This week at a rally in Nice she adopted the battle cry of the far left: “dégagez-les!” (throw them out!) as she claimed that a “treacherous” political and financial elite were demanding the “submission, surrender and capitulation” of France.

Mr Dupont-Aignan said that his Debout la France party will remain totally independent. However his endorsement of the FN took many by surprise and marks a change in sentiment from the past when he has frequently stressed his distance from the party.

In April 2014 Mr Dupont-Aignan told the France 2 television channel: “Do you want to entrust France to the Le Pen family? No.” As recently as September he said that “we do not come from the same political family” as the FN.

Via FT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT
Just in:
Sunshine’s Debut Features Leave Tech World Scratching Its Head // CABSAT 2024 Ushers in 30 Years of Media Innovation // US reiterates concern over Kejriwal arrest, Cong accounts // Digital Hub Unveiled: Xposure Launches Platform for Global Photography Community // First-Ever Fortune Innovation Forum Draws Top Global Leaders to Hong Kong, Promoting Agendas On Collective Cross-Sector Advancement // Andertoons by Mark Anderson for Thu, 28 Mar 2024 // Infineon and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering jointly develop ship electrification technology // Global Audience to Witness Thrill of Dubai World Cup // No running of govt from jail, says Delhi Lt Governor // French Leaders Gather for Interfaith Iftar Dinner // U.S. Compliance Takes Center Stage at OKX Following Industry Jitters // Universal Language for Healthcare: General Authority Embraces Global Coding System // 2024 Lok Sabha Elections Will Be The Costliest One Till Now In The Whole World // Emirati Aid Reaches Ukraine as Food Shortages Bite // Samsung Electronics Launches 2024 Neo QLED 8K, Neo QLED, and OLED Displays to Spark the AI Screen Era // Ingdan Announces 2023 Annual Results // Experience Ultimate Shopping Freedom at 4.4 Shopee Spree: Don’t Worry, Shop Shopee! // Andertoons by Mark Anderson for Fri, 29 Mar 2024 // TUMI Hosts Global Launch Event in Singapore to Unveil Women’s Asra Collection and Announce Global Ambassador, Mun Ka Young // German Job Market Resilience Bodes Well for Economic Recovery //