Marine Le Pen vs. the World

CARTOONS
16:55 18.04.2017

The current presidential race in France has been vivid so far, spiced with scandals concerning almost every candidate. There have been attacks on the hopefuls, too, with the most recent one involving a stripping, flower-wielding Femen activist.

Marine Le Pen vs. the World
On Monday, a woman rushed on stage during Marine Le Pen's campaign rally the Zenith arena in Paris. The woman held in her hand a bouquet of flowers. As soon as she reached Le Pen, the activist started stripping, but the security services promptly escorted her from the stage.

Meanwhile, scuffles between protesters and police broke out outside the Zenith arena. It was reported that dozens of hooded youths threw smoke bombs at police cordons protecting the venue, prompting them to fire tear gas at the crowds.

Le Pen's party, National Front (FN), has been labeled "far-right" and though the party has never formally held much power in the French legislature, it has exerted pressure on the French political landscape for decades. Le Pen has sparked controversy for being nationalistic, opposed to immigration, and advocating beggar-thy-neighbor protectionist economic policies.

Earlier in April, French investigators asked the European Parliament to waive Le Pen's parliamentary immunity over the probe concerning fraudulent jobs of her party assistants.