Marine Le Pen’s niece goes to her competitor Zemmour

Right-wing populist candidate Marine Le Pen has been hit hard in the campaign for the French presidential election. His niece, the popular Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, announced that she was not joining her aunt, but the radical right-wing candidate Éric Zemmour.

The decision of Maréchal, 32, is not unexpected. She held key positions in her aunt’s party for many years, but had not been active there for some time. Lately, Zemmour has made advances to the ambitious Marshal more than once. “If Marion joins me, campaigns with me, she could become prime minister,” he said in an interview.

Maréchal now affirms that she will support the candidate whom she considers to be the best placed and whose ideas she has always supported. It was presented today at a Zemmour campaign meeting in Toulon.

Islam and extremism

Marshal is not the first important character of Le Pens Rassemblement National leaving the party for that of Zemmour. Many of them think that Le Pen has become too soft: for example, she does not focus enough on Islam and extremism.

According to observers, the struggle between right-wing parties is providing grist for incumbent President Macron’s mill. He remains one of the big favorites in the polls to win the first round of the April 10 presidential election. In the most recent survey from Ipsos, it amounts to 30.5%. Le Pen is second with 14.5% and Zemmour third with 13%.