Le Pen

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to begin efforts to unite a deeply divided nation after winning re-election on Appril 24 in a battle against rival Marine Le Pen that saw the far right come its closest yet to taking power.

France on April 23 prepared to choose between centrist President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen to rule the country for the next five years after a bitterly contested and polarising election campaign.

President Emmanuel Macron and far-right rival Marine Le Pen on Thursday prepared for a final rush of campaigning before France's presidential election after an acrimonious debate where they clashed over relations with Russia and the Islamic headscarf.

"If I am elected president of France, I will pull France out of NATO," she said.
Le Pen said that the decision refers only to the military alliance, and that France will remain a member of the European Union.
"That (exiting the EU) is not my goal. At the same time, I want the evolution of that European structure," she said.

He has a full campaign team that's fanning out around France, meeting with voters. He makes speeches about his plans for the country in the upcoming years. The problem? Emmanuel Macron hasn't officially declared that he's a candidate for April's presidential election yet.

A Russophile, Mariani is well-placed to secure a prominent spot in any Le Pen presidency should she manage to beat incumbent Emmanuel Macron, a victory that would have far-reaching consequences for the geopolitical balance of power in Europe and, potentially, for the fate of Bosnia.

"Prime Minister Viktor Orban discussed the creation of a new European political grouping in a video conference with Matteo Salvini, leader of the Italian Lega party, and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, vice-president of the Law and Justice party (PiS)," Bertalan Havasi, the prime minister's press chief, announced on Wednesday.

Political journalist, essayist, writer and television analyst ric Zemmour surpassed far-right doyen Marine Le Pen in popularity, according to public opinion polls on presidential candidates, currently presenting himself as the main challenger to incumbent President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the April elections.

The French far-right again failed to win a single region in elections on June 27 exit polls showed, depriving its leader Marine Le Pen of a chance to show her party is fit for power ahead of next year's presidential election.   

On an unusually brisk afternoon in May, European flags fluttered alongside anti-fascist banners in Bratislava's old town on the banks of the Danube.

Demonstrators were protesting a meeting of European far-right parties in the Slovak capital ahead of this month's EU elections.

"Freedom is more than a nation," one placard read. "Fascists, entry forbidden," said another.