PARIS, France (Reuters) — French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said on Monday (April 24) that she was stepping aside from the leadership of her far-right National Front party in a bid to unite the French people as she prepared for the second round of the presidential election.
Most polls see Le Pen trailing her centrist rival Emmanuel Macron 40 points to 60, and she has to widen her support if she can hope to beat him in the run-off on May 7.
“This evening I’m no longer the president of the National Front, I am a candidate for the presidency of France,” Le Pen told French television channel France 2.
