Le Pen fights to restore momentum
PARIS — Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen pulled all the stops to stem her slide in the polls, saying she’s willing to be “crucified” for her stance on absolving France for the wartime deportation of Jews, and pledging to protect the country from Islamic fundamentalists.
In a wide-ranging interview Friday on France Info radio nine days before the first round of the presidential vote, the 48-year-old anti-immigration candidate expressed disappointment at what she said was U.S. President Trump going back on campaign promises, while focusing mainly on well-worn themes that most strike a chord with her electorate: Islam, immigration, national identity and terrorism.
The nationalist candidate was widely criticized for saying in a radio interview last weekend that France isn’t responsible for the 1942 “Vel’ d’Hiv” roundup in which more than 13,000 Jews were arrested to be deported to Nazi concentration camps.
“I don’t want France to be damaged, to be humiliated, that it be held responsible when it is not responsible,” Le Pen said. “People can crucify me, I will not change my mind, I will always defend France.”
Le Pen said she is “extremely sensitive to the martyrdom of the Jews,” adding that the only issue was “juridical,” whether the Vichy regime was France or not. “I consider that Vichy was not France. French people can commit crimes without France being criminal.”
The National Front candidate’s lead in the polls has been whittled away over the last few weeks, leaving her struggling to regain momentum. First-round support for both Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron slipped 0.5 points to respectively 23.5 percent and 22.5 percent, according to a daily rolling poll by Ifop. Le Pen was at 26.5 percent in mid-March.
The top four candidates in the presidential race are all within striking distance of the runoff, should they garner enough votes in the first round on April 23.
“Le Pen is hammering away at the two issues of wartime deportations and Muslim fundamentalism because she is trying to refocus the campaign on her strong points, the key motivations for her electors,” said Bruno Jeanbart, deputy chief executive of French pollster Opinionway.
He said the slight slide in Le Pen’s support could be due both to the race tightening closer to the voting date, and to minor protest candidates stealing votes from her.
In Friday’s interview, Le Pen criticized Trump for changing his mind on the United States’ global role after he said Wednesday that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was “no longer obsolete” in fighting terrorism.
“Undeniably he is in contradiction with the commitments he had made,” Le Pen said.