Former MP Maréchal told Le Parisien newspaper she has not yet decided who she will support in the April elections. She does not rule out joining the far right Eric Zemmour. He turned out to be a rival to Aunt Marine, who is the leader of the right-wing Rassemblement National.
Le Pen reacted dismayed to the interview. She admitted to CNews that she was personally having a hard time with her extremely conservative niece’s stance. It is very popular in some right-wing circles and could give a new impetus to Zemmour’s campaign.
Polls show that Le Pen currently appears to have a better chance of making it to the second round of the presidential election. There she would probably have to face incumbent President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron has not yet said whether he will run again, although his party has already put a website online: Avecvous2022.fr. Interviews can be found with French citizens, such as a teacher and a farmer. According to the party, the site should make it clear that the concerns of citizens are given a central place in the campaign. Macron is not mentioned by name.
The current president would receive about a quarter of the vote in the first round of elections, according to polls. He will then probably face center-right Valérie Pécresse or Le Pen in a second round.
That leader of the National Rally has already had to deal with family conflicts before. She took over the party leadership from her father Jean-Marie in 2011, whom she threw out of the party a few years later. It was then called Front National. Marine Le Pen wanted to take a more moderate course than her father.