Addressing around 3,000 party faithful in the town of Frejus on the Cote d'Azur, Le Pen aimed to set the tone for her campaign, declaring in her speech: "The time of the nation state has come again." Polls consistently show Le Pen among the top two candidates in the two-stage presidential elections to take place in April and May. In Frejus, Le Pen sought to sanitise her image, continuing a process of "de-demonisation" that has paid off handsomely at the ballot box since she took over the FN leadership from her ex-paratrooper father Jean-Marie Le Pen in 2011. 'Our land'Le Pen said French voters were never given a say on the "biggest change in a century in the nation: the opening up to mass immigration". Analysts say Le Pen's more inclusive approach is aimed at taking the fear factor out of a National Front presidency.

Source: The Local September 18, 2016 17:48 UTC