French Presidential Hopeful Marine Le Pen: Things to Know

After Donald Trump's election and the vote for Brexit, comes France's Presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen whose lead only confirms the trend of Western countries heading towards a more populist and anti-global sentiment.

At conference in Germany, the past weekend, she said, “2016 was the year when the Anglo-Saxon world woke up, 2017 will be the year where the population of continental Europe wakes up.

“It is no longer a question about possibility, it is a question of time.”

She also said that France cannot cope with the number of migrants coming to the country, and said that the Schengen agreement that enables free movement between countries in Europe was ‘madness’. She also said that the euro currency was destroying the French economy,

The second round of the French Presidential election will be held in May.

Here are some things to know about her:

1. She is the president of the National Front, a national conservative political party in France.

2. She has stated her opposition to abortion, same sex marriage and euthanasia.

3. She survived a bomb attack on her house when she was just 8 years old

4. Her father is the founder of the National Front, the party she now heads.

5. She has a masters in criminal law and worked as a public defender for over 6 years.

6. She has been investigated for fraud and was accused of breaking the Parliament’s rules by having two assistants do non-parliamentary work. She apparently also distributed flyers in the name of her electoral opponent Jean-Luc Melenchon in the 2012 election.

7. She was ranked as among Time Magazine’s most influential people in 2011 and 2015.

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