France&#39;s far-right leader Marine Le Pen launched her presidential campain on Sunday by promising to reject the tenets of mainstream politics and quit the eurozone.

Le Pen has also vowed to impose heavier taxes on foreign workers and remove red-tape in small firms, themes that has catapulted the eurosceptic as one of the likely winners in this year&#39;s elections in France.

Although polls show her in second place behind the centrist former banker&nbsp;Emmanuel Macron, the recent attack on a soldier near Louvre Museum has fuelled her presidential bid as one of her 144 &quot;commitments&quot; to the nation is also about arming the police &quot;massively&quot; to thwart terrorist action.

Le Pen, trotting her trump card of exiting Europe, said that she would hold a referendum if other European partners refuse to agree with her decision of quitting the eurozone.

She spoke about seeing her country not lose its identity by the influx of immigrants and refugees, and a state with its own borders.

Le Pen has previously spoken about her consternation related to immigrants and refugess, saying their presence was not only a dilution of French values but also risked the possibility of terror attacks in the country.

The 48-year-old leader of the National Front (FN) favours an overhauled European Union without a single currency.&nbsp;

Le Pen has also benefitted from the scandal that has rocked her conservative rival Francois&nbsp;Fillon, who was widely tipped to win the May 7 runoffs.

Fillon has been swamped with allegations&nbsp;about&nbsp;his wife Penelope earning more than 800,000 euros ($860,000) as a parliamentary aide without apparently ever working in the National Assembly building.

He also allegedly helped his children earn an additional&nbsp;84,000 euros working as parliamentary aides.

Le Pen hopes to capitalise on the same rejection of mainstream politics that helped the Brexit camp win in Britain and swept Donald Trump to the US presidency.

She has worked to rid the FN of its more extremist, anti-Semitic fringe since taking over from her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, who has repeatedly referred to the Nazi gas chambers as a &quot;detail&quot; of history.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

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The far-right leader has vowed to exit the eurozone and impose higher taxes on foreign workers

France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen launched her presidential campain on Sunday by promising to reject the tenets of mainstream politics and quit the eurozone. Le Pen has also vowed to impose heavier taxes on foreign workers and remove red-tape in small firms, themes that has catapulted the eurosceptic as one of the likely winners in this year's elections in France. Although polls show her in second place behind the centrist former banker Emmanuel Macron, the recent attack on a soldier near Louvre Museum has fuelled her presidential bid as one of her 144 "commitments" to the nation is also about arming the police "massively" to thwart terrorist action. Le Pen, trotting her trump card of exiting Europe, said that she would hold a referendum if other European partners refuse to agree with her decision of quitting the eurozone. She spoke about seeing her country not lose its identity by the influx of immigrants and refugees, and a state with its own borders. Le Pen has previously spoken about her consternation related to immigrants and refugess, saying their presence was not only a dilution of French values but also risked the possibility of terror attacks in the country. The 48-year-old leader of the National Front (FN) favours an overhauled European Union without a single currency. Le Pen has also benefitted from the scandal that has rocked her conservative rival Francois Fillon, who was widely tipped to win the May 7 runoffs. Fillon has been swamped with allegations about his wife Penelope earning more than 800,000 euros ($860,000) as a parliamentary aide without apparently ever working in the National Assembly building. He also allegedly helped his children earn an additional 84,000 euros working as parliamentary aides. Le Pen hopes to capitalise on the same rejection of mainstream politics that helped the Brexit camp win in Britain and swept Donald Trump to the US presidency. She has worked to rid the FN of its more extremist, anti-Semitic fringe since taking over from her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, who has repeatedly referred to the Nazi gas chambers as a "detail" of history. (WION with inputs from AFP)

France's Le Pen launches presidential campaign with anti-EU rhetoric

The European Parliament will shortly begin taking money from the salary of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen to recover funds paid to a party assistant, a parliamentary source said Wednesday.

Le Pen, one of the front-runners in upcoming French presidential polls, had until midnight Tuesday to repay nearly 300,000 euros ($325,000) but she bluntly rejected the demand just before the deadline.

The European Parliament says Le Pen, who is also an MEP as well as leader of France&#39;s National Front, incorrectly used the funds to pay an aide, Catherine Griset, who was based at the party&#39;s headquarters in Paris and not at the assembly, which meets in both Brussels and Strasbourg, eastern France.

The parliamentary source in Brussels, who asked not to be named, said the aim was not to punish Le Pen but to recover the funds involved.

Le Pen and her representatives had had &quot;many occasions&quot; to explain her position, the source said.

MEP salaries are paid on the 15th of each month, so the procedure could begin shortly, the source said, adding that it could amount to 8,000 euros per month when other parliamentary payments are included.

The source said parliament believes this is the normal procedure in such cases.

Griset was employed by the National Front as an &quot;accredited assistant&quot; between 2010 and 2016.

The European Parliament is also looking into more than 41,500 euros paid to Thierry Legier, who is Le Pen&#39;s bodyguard.&nbsp;

Le Pen told AFP Tuesday she had never received the money and compared the case with allegations that her conservative challenger in the presidential election, Francois Fillon, paid his wife and children around 900,000 euros for &quot;fake jobs&quot; as parliamentary assistants.

&quot;To repay the money, I would have had to receive it in the first place, but I am not Francois Fillon,&quot; she said.

&quot;Furthermore, I formally contest this unilateral and illegal decision,&quot; Le Pen added.

National Front treasurer Wallerand de Saint-Just confirmed Tuesday that Le Pen had refused to repay the funds. 
 
(AFP)

Le Pen had until midnight Tuesday to repay $325,000 taken from EU funds but she bluntly rejected the demand

The European Parliament will shortly begin taking money from the salary of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen to recover funds paid to a party assistant, a parliamentary source said Wednesday. Le Pen, one of the front-runners in upcoming French presidential polls, had until midnight Tuesday to repay nearly 300,000 euros ($325,000) but she bluntly rejected the demand just before the deadline. The European Parliament says Le Pen, who is also an MEP as well as leader of France's National Front, incorrectly used the funds to pay an aide, Catherine Griset, who was based at the party's headquarters in Paris and not at the assembly, which meets in both Brussels and Strasbourg, eastern France. The parliamentary source in Brussels, who asked not to be named, said the aim was not to punish Le Pen but to recover the funds involved. Le Pen and her representatives had had "many occasions" to explain her position, the source said. MEP salaries are paid on the 15th of each month, so the procedure could begin shortly, the source said, adding that it could amount to 8,000 euros per month when other parliamentary payments are included. The source said parliament believes this is the normal procedure in such cases. Griset was employed by the National Front as an "accredited assistant" between 2010 and 2016. The European Parliament is also looking into more than 41,500 euros paid to Thierry Legier, who is Le Pen's bodyguard. Le Pen told AFP Tuesday she had never received the money and compared the case with allegations that her conservative challenger in the presidential election, Francois Fillon, paid his wife and children around 900,000 euros for "fake jobs" as parliamentary assistants. "To repay the money, I would have had to receive it in the first place, but I am not Francois Fillon," she said. "Furthermore, I formally contest this unilateral and illegal decision," Le Pen added. National Front treasurer Wallerand de Saint-Just confirmed Tuesday that Le Pen had refused to repay the funds. (AFP)

EU parliament to take money from Le Pen's salary for 'funding' assistant

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France's Le Pen launches presidential campaign with anti-EU rhetoric

EU parliament to take money from Le Pen's salary for 'funding' assistant