France’s Le Pen hardens tone as campaign clock ticks down

PARIS – French far-right presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen says that French people feel “dispossessed” in their own country as she stresses the threats of immigration and terrorism in the final days of campaigning.

The 48-year-old former lawyer has spent years trying to broaden support for her National Front party, but she has signaled a return to the core concerns of many of her supporters in recent speeches.

Speaking on BFM television, Le Pen emphasizes how she would pull France out of the European Union, slash immigration, make it harder to get French nationality and crack down on suspected Islamists.

“French people have the feeling of being dispossessed of their identity, of their social security system and their sovereignty,” Le Pen tells the channel.

Polls show a four-way race developing ahead of the first round of the election on Sunday between Le Pen, 39-year-old centrist Emmanuel Macron, conservative Francois Fillon and far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon.

Two of them are expected to advance to a run-off vote on May 7.

— AFP