Addressing a key rally near Paris five days before facing Emmanuel Macron in the decisive vote, Le Pen spoke of France’s cultural roots, history and influence in western Europe. Le Pen mentioned France’s “three maritime borders” with the English Channel, North Sea and the Atlantic, as did Fillon. Florian Philippot, deputy leader of the Front National, said the party “completely owned up” to the similarities with Fillon’s speech amid widespread mockery on social media. He told Radio Classique that Le Pen’s speech was a “nod-and-a-wink” to her former rival’s discourse in order to “launch a real debate” concerning French identity. Le Pen came second on 23 May and polls predict her to be beaten by the Macron on Saturday, with the centrist candidate expected to win around 60% of the vote.

Source: Dhaka Tribune May 02, 2017 11:15 UTC