French nationalist leader Marine Le Pen has softened her rhetoric and her image to broaden her appeal in next week's presidential election — but is under threat from a provocative rival who has broken her monopoly as the watchdog of the country's identity that they claim is under threat.For more than a decade, Le Pen has been known for her fierce anti-immigration stance, seeing herself as standing guard at the parapets of French civilisation.
She is now honing in on consumers' buying power, the top concern for voters.
“I obviously consider that immigration and insecurity are serious problems which need urgent answers, but there's not just that,” said Le Pen, head of the National Rally party, during a TV show featuring voters' questions.
“I worry about making ends meet as much as the end of France.”
Meanwhile, Eric Zemmour, 63, a political novice running under the banner of his newly created Reconquest! party, is now portraying himself as the protector of old France, with bold proposals on immigration and Islam.
He has proposed a “Remigration Ministry”, equipped with airplanes to expedite the expulsions of what he says are undesirable migrants.
Their rivalry illustrates France's increasing tilt toward the hard right and how that has set the agenda for the presidential election, held in two rounds on April 10 and 24.
While polls suggest centrist President Emmanuel Macron is the front-runner, nearly half of respondents say they're ready to vote for a far-right candidate in the decisive runoff.
And that's despite the fact that Zemmour, a TV pundit who models himself after former US President Donald Trump, has been convicted three times of inciting racial or religious hatred.
Zemmour, who said he entered the race to “save France” has made the conspiracy theory known as the “great replacement” the centrepiece of his campaign.
The term evokes a false white supremacist claim that immigrants and other people of colour — notably Muslims — are supplanting natives of Western countries and will one day erase Christian civilisation. He recently alleged that without a stop to immigration, France will become “an African nation, an Islamic nation” in 10-20 years.
A large majority of French people are white Catholics, and immigration evolution statistics contradict his claim.
Zemmour's political goal is to create a “union of the right”, bringing together conservatives, including traditional Catholics, and far-right parties.
Le Pen, who also decries “migratory submersion” says her goal is the “union of France”.
Polls of voters suggest that Le Pen's focus on pocketbook issues may be working. They show her consistently second to Macron, with Zemmour in third or fourth place. That could put her in a runoff against Macron, a repeat of their 2017 standoff, which she lost 66 per cent-34 per cent.