French Election: Macron Calls Le Pen's National Front 'Party of Hatred'

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — French independence candidate Emmanuel Macron has called on Saturday the far-right National Front (FN) party headed by Marine Le Pen "party of hatred" and vowed to defeat it in the first round of election, speaking at a rally in the southern city of Marseilles.

"The National Front is our main opponent, let us not boo them but fight them. I want us to kick far from this campaign and from the country the party of hatred and contempt and all those who make us so ashamed. We are going to be ahead in the first round and we're going to beat them," Macron was quoted as saying by Le Parisien newspaper.

He also raise a question of the notion of patriotism as an opposition to FN policy's core principle of nationalism.

"To be a patriot means seeking strong and open to Europe France. I see there the Armenians, the Comorians, the Italians, the Algerians, the Moroccans, the Tunisians, the Malians, the Senegalese, the Ivorians, and many others. But what do I see? The citizens of Marseilles! I see the French because they are proud to be French. Remember this, FN ladies and gentlemen, this is what means to be the proud French," Macron said.

The first round of the French presidential election is slated for April 23, while the run-off is expected to take place on May 7. According to recent polls, Macron and Le Pen have equal chances to win the first round, with voting intentions figures for both of them varying from 24 to 26 percent during the last week. The Republicans'a party nominee Francois Fillon is projected to receive 20 percent of votes. In the run-off, Le pen is set to lose both to Macron and Fillon.

 

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