Marine Le Pen

Marine Le Pen
Le Pen in 2024
President of the National Rally group in the National Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 June 2022
Preceded byOffice established
Member of the National Assembly
for Pas-de-Calais's 11th constituency
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 June 2017
Preceded byPhilippe Kemel
President of the National Rally
In office
16 January 2011 – 13 September 2021[a]
Preceded byJean-Marie Le Pen
Succeeded byJordan Bardella
Chair of the Europe of Nations and Freedom Group
In office
15 June 2015 – 19 June 2017
Serving with Marcel de Graaff
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byNicolas Bay
Member of the European Parliament
In office
14 July 2009 – 18 June 2017
ConstituencyNorth-West France
In office
20 July 2004 – 13 July 2009
ConstituencyÎle-de-France
Regional Councillor
In office
4 January 2016 – 2 July 2021
ConstituencyHauts-de-France
In office
26 March 2010 – 13 December 2015
ConstituencyNord-Pas-de-Calais
In office
28 March 2004 – 21 March 2010
ConstituencyÎle-de-France
In office
21 March 1998 – 28 March 2004
ConstituencyNord-Pas-de-Calais
Personal details
Born
Marion Anne Perrine Le Pen

(1968-08-05) 5 August 1968 (age 56)
Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Political partyFN/RN (since 1986)
Spouses
Franck Chauffroy
​
​
(m. 1995; div. 2000)​
Eric Lorio
​
​
(m. 2002; div. 2006)​
Domestic partnerLouis Aliot (2009–2019)
Children3
Parents
RelativesMarie-Caroline Le Pen (sister)
Marion Maréchal (niece)
Philippe Olivier (brother-in-law)
Jordan Bardella (nephew-in-law)
Vincenzo Sofo (nephew-in-law)
Alma materPanthéon-Assas University (LLM, DEA)
Signature
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Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (French: [maʁin lə pɛn]; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician who ran for the French presidency in 2012, 2017, and 2022. A member of the National Rally (RN; previously the National Front, FN), she served as its president from 2011 to 2021. She has been the member of the National Assembly for the 11th constituency of Pas-de-Calais since 2017. She currently serves as parliamentary party leader of the National Rally in the Assembly, a position she has held since June 2022.

Le Pen is the youngest daughter of former party leader Jean-Marie Le Pen and the aunt of former FN MP Marion Maréchal. Le Pen joined the FN in 1986. She was elected as a regional councillor of Nord-Pas-de-Calais (1998–2004; 2010–2015), Île-de-France (2004–2010) and Hauts-de-France (2015–2021), a Member of European Parliament (2004–2017), as well as a municipal councillor of Hénin-Beaumont (2008–2011). She won the leadership of the FN in 2011, with 67.6% of the vote, defeating Bruno Gollnisch and succeeding her father, who had been president of the party since he founded it in 1972.[1][2][3] In 2012, she placed third in the presidential election with 17.9% of the vote, behind François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy.[4][5][6] She launched a second bid for the presidency at the 2017 election. She finished second in the first round of the election with 21.3% of the vote and faced Emmanuel Macron of centrist party En Marche! in the second round of voting. On 7 May 2017, she conceded after receiving approximately 33.9% of the vote in the second round.[7] In 2020, she announced her third candidacy for the presidency in the 2022 election. She came second in the first round of the election with 23.2% of the votes, thus qualifying her for the second round against Macron,[8] losing in the second round after receiving 41.5% of the votes.

Le Pen has led a movement of "de-demonisation of the National Front" to soften its image,[9] including limited expulsion of members accused of racism, antisemitism or Pétainism. She expelled her father from the party in August 2015, after he made fresh controversial statements.[10][11] While liberalizing some political positions of the party by revoking its opposition to same-sex partnerships, its opposition to unconditional abortions, and its support for the death penalty, Le Pen still advocates many of the same historical policies of her party, with particular focus on strong anti-immigration, nationalist and protectionist measures.[12][13][14] She is supportive of economic nationalism, favoring an interventionist role of government, and is opposed to globalization and multiculturalism. Le Pen supports limiting immigration and banning ritual slaughter.[15] She has made supportive comments of Vladimir Putin and Russia in the past, advocating closer cooperation before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine; she strongly condemned the war in Ukraine, but stated Russia could become "an ally of France again" if it ends.[16][17] She has supported Israel during the Israel–Hamas war.[18][19]

Time named Le Pen one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2011 and 2015.[20][21] In 2016, Politico named her the second-most influential MEP in the European Parliament, after President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz.[22] In January 2024, after months of rising polling numbers, and for the first time ever, Le Pen became the most popular politician in France according to a Verian-Epoka for Le Figaro Magazine.[23]


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  1. ^ Erlanger, Steven (21 May 2010). "Child of France's Far Right Prepares to Be Its Leader". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  2. ^ Marquand, Robert (25 June 2010). "France's National Front: will Marine Le Pen take the reins ?". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  3. ^ "Marine Le Pen in bid to head France's National Front". BBC News. 13 April 2010. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  4. ^ "Decision: list of the 2012 candidates" (in French). Constitutional Council. 19 March 2012. Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  5. ^ "2012 French presidential election: Constitutional Council's statement after the official proclamation of the results in the first round" (PDF) (in French). Constitutional Council. 25 April 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 May 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  6. ^ "2012 French presidential election: first round results in the departments after the official proclamation by the Constitutional Council" (PDF) (in French). Constitutional council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 May 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  7. ^ "En direct, Emmanuel Macron élu président: " Je défendrai la France, ses intérêts vitaux, son image "". Le Monde. 7 May 2017. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Macron tops first round of French election to face Le Pen in April 24 run-off". France24. 10 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Marine Le Pen's 'Brutal' Upbringing Shaped Her Worldview". NPR. 21 April 2017. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  10. ^ Francetv info (May 2015). "Défilé du FN: comment Marine Le Pen va marginaliser son père". France Info. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  11. ^ "L'after RMC: " Jean-Marie Le Pen est assez marginalisé et esseulé dans sa tentative de combattre le Front national ", Louis Aliot". Bfmtv.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  12. ^ "The de-demonisation of the Front National". Policy Network. 26 March 2013. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Marine Le Pen "pour un Pacs amélioré" pour les homosexuels". BFM TV. 6 October 2014. Archived from the original on 11 February 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  14. ^ "IVG: Marion Maréchal-Le Pen recadrée par sa tante". Le Figaro. 6 December 2016. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  15. ^ Mounk, Yascha (1 May 2017). "No, There Is No Case for Le Pen". Slate. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022. This becomes most apparent in Le Pen's views on the headscarf and the yarmulke: While some of her rivals would outlaw these in public schools, Le Pen wants to ban them in all public places. In conjunction with her opposition to ritual slaughter...
  16. ^ "Why France's Marine Le Pen Is Doubling Down on Russia Support". Time. 9 January 2017. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Marine Le Pen: 'Putin could become ally to France again'". connexionfrance.com. 3 April 2022. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  18. ^ "Where does Europe's far right stand on the Israel-Hamas war?". Deutsche Welle. 18 November 2023.
  19. ^ "In break with its past, French far-right now supports Israel". Anadolu Agency. 28 June 2024.
  20. ^ "The 2011 Time 100: full list". Time. 21 April 2011. Archived from the original on 22 April 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  21. ^ "Thomas Piketty et Marine Le Pen parmi les 100 personnalités influentes du " Time "". Le Monde (in French). 16 April 2015. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  22. ^ "The 40 MEPs who actually matter: the ranking". Politico. 19 May 2016. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  23. ^ "Sondage: Marine Le Pen pour la première fois seule en tête dans le baromètre du Figaro Magazine". Le Figaro (in French). 31 January 2024.