French far-right National Front presidential candidate Marine Le Pen canceled a meeting on Tuesday with Lebanon&#39;s grand mufti, its top cleric for Sunni Muslims, after refusing to wear a headscarf for the encounter.

Le Pen, among the frontrunners for the presidency, is using a two-day visit to Lebanon to bolster her foreign policy credentials nine weeks from the April 23 first round, and may be partly targeting potential Franco-Lebanese votes.

Many Lebanese fled to France, Lebanon&#39;s former colonial power, during their country&#39;s 1975-1990 civil war and became French citizens.

After meeting Christian President Michel Aoun -- her first public handshake with a head of state -- and Sunni Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri on Monday, she had been scheduled to meet the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian

He heads the Dar al-Fatwa, the top religious authority for Sunni Muslims in the multireligious country.

&quot;I met the grand mufti of Al-Azhar,&quot; she told reporters, referring to a visit in 2015 to Cairo&#39;s 1,000-year-old centre of Islamic learning. &quot;The highest Sunni authority didn&#39;t have this requirement, but it doesn&#39;t matter.

&quot;You can pass on my respects to the grand mufti, but I will not cover myself up,&quot; she said.

The cleric&#39;s press office said Le Pen&#39;s aides had been informed beforehand that a headscarf was required for the meeting and had been &quot;surprised by her refusal&quot;.

But it was no surprise in the French political context.

French law bans headscarves in the public service and for high school pupils, in the name of church-state separation and equal rights for women. Le Pen wants to extend this ban to all public places, a measure that would affect Muslims most of all.

Buoyed by the election of President Donald Trump in the United States and by Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union, Le Pen&#39;s anti-immigration, anti-EU National Front (FN) hopes for similar populist momentum in France.

Like Trump, she has said radical Islamism must be faced head on, although she has toned down her party&#39;s rhetoric to attract more mainstream support and possibly even woo some Muslim voters disillusioned with France&#39;s traditional parties.

After meeting Hariri on Monday, Le Pen went against current French policy in Syria by describing President Bashar al-Assad as the &quot;only viable solution&quot; for preventing Islamic State from taking power in Syria.

Lebanon has some 1.5 million Syrian refugees.

&quot;I explained clearly that ... Bashar al-Assad was obviously today a much more reassuring solution for France than Islamic State would be if it came to power in Syria,&quot; she told reporters.

Hariri, whose family has close links to conservative former French President Jacques Chirac and still has a home in France, issued a strongly-worded statement after their meeting.

&quot;The most serious error would be to link Islam and Muslims on the one hand and terrorism on the other,&quot; Hariri said.

&quot;The Lebanese and Arabs, like most of the world, considers that France is the home of human rights and the republican state makes no distinction between citizens on ethnic, religious or class grounds.&quot;

(Reuters)

'You can pass on my respects to the grand mufti, but I will not cover myself up,' she told reporters

French far-right National Front presidential candidate Marine Le Pen canceled a meeting on Tuesday with Lebanon's grand mufti, its top cleric for Sunni Muslims, after refusing to wear a headscarf for the encounter. Le Pen, among the frontrunners for the presidency, is using a two-day visit to Lebanon to bolster her foreign policy credentials nine weeks from the April 23 first round, and may be partly targeting potential Franco-Lebanese votes. Many Lebanese fled to France, Lebanon's former colonial power, during their country's 1975-1990 civil war and became French citizens. After meeting Christian President Michel Aoun -- her first public handshake with a head of state -- and Sunni Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri on Monday, she had been scheduled to meet the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian He heads the Dar al-Fatwa, the top religious authority for Sunni Muslims in the multireligious country. "I met the grand mufti of Al-Azhar," she told reporters, referring to a visit in 2015 to Cairo's 1,000-year-old centre of Islamic learning. "The highest Sunni authority didn't have this requirement, but it doesn't matter. "You can pass on my respects to the grand mufti, but I will not cover myself up," she said. The cleric's press office said Le Pen's aides had been informed beforehand that a headscarf was required for the meeting and had been "surprised by her refusal". But it was no surprise in the French political context. French law bans headscarves in the public service and for high school pupils, in the name of church-state separation and equal rights for women. Le Pen wants to extend this ban to all public places, a measure that would affect Muslims most of all. Buoyed by the election of President Donald Trump in the United States and by Britain's vote to leave the European Union, Le Pen's anti-immigration, anti-EU National Front (FN) hopes for similar populist momentum in France. Like Trump, she has said radical Islamism must be faced head on, although she has toned down her party's rhetoric to attract more mainstream support and possibly even woo some Muslim voters disillusioned with France's traditional parties. After meeting Hariri on Monday, Le Pen went against current French policy in Syria by describing President Bashar al-Assad as the "only viable solution" for preventing Islamic State from taking power in Syria. Lebanon has some 1.5 million Syrian refugees. "I explained clearly that ... Bashar al-Assad was obviously today a much more reassuring solution for France than Islamic State would be if it came to power in Syria," she told reporters. Hariri, whose family has close links to conservative former French President Jacques Chirac and still has a home in France, issued a strongly-worded statement after their meeting. "The most serious error would be to link Islam and Muslims on the one hand and terrorism on the other," Hariri said. "The Lebanese and Arabs, like most of the world, considers that France is the home of human rights and the republican state makes no distinction between citizens on ethnic, religious or class grounds." (Reuters)

Far-right Le Pen cancels meeting with Lebanon grand mufti after refusing to wear headscarf

France&#39;s far-right party leader Marine Le Pen on Sunday&nbsp;told thousands of flag-waving supporters chanting &quot;This is our country!&quot; that she alone would protect them against Islamic fundamentalism and globalisation if elected president in May.

&quot;It is pretty obvious, the left-right division doesn&#39;t mean anything anymore,&quot; Le Pen told supporters at her campaign launch rally in Lyon. &quot;The division is not between right and left anymore, but between patriots and pro-globalisation.&quot;

In 144 &quot;commitments&quot; published on Saturday, Le Pen said she would drastically curb migration, expel all illegal migrants and reserve certain rights now available to all residents, including free education, to French citizens only. Her anti-EU National Front (FN) government would also take France out of the euro zone, hold a referendum on EU membership, slap taxes on imports and on the job contracts of foreigners.

Buoyed by Trump&#39;s victory and Britons&#39; vote to leave the European Union, Le Pen&#39;s party hopes for similar populist momentum in France.

With hitherto favourite Francois Fillon, a conservative, embroiled in scandal over his wife&#39;s job and rising centrist star, Emmanuel Macron, yet untested, Le Pen&#39;s FN says it can thwart polls that see her losing in a second round run-off. Le Pen&#39;s anti-immigration, anti-EU policy platform appealed to supporters at the rally.

&quot;Do you think this is normal that a French family who has been working for all their life, can&#39;t not even pay for food to eat, while we are giving millions of euros to foreigners?&quot; said construction worker Pierre Megias, after the rally.

Le Pen&#39;s outsider status attracted 29-year-old teacher Anne-Sophie Legauffre.

&quot;When we see other candidates emerging, such as Emmanuel Macron, who is a banker, supported by bankers and so on...I don&#39;t think what he wants to fight for is the French identity,&quot; she said.

The most recent polls indicate that Marine Le Pen would win the first round of the presidential election, but she would be beaten in the second round, whichever candidate she faces.

On the other side of Lyon, far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon held a rally, as did centrist Macron, as candidates keep a close watch of each other&#39;s moves.

(Reuters)

Officially launching her campaign, Le Pen committed to drastically curbing migration and expelling all illegal migrants

France's far-right party leader Marine Le Pen on Sunday told thousands of flag-waving supporters chanting "This is our country!" that she alone would protect them against Islamic fundamentalism and globalisation if elected president in May. "It is pretty obvious, the left-right division doesn't mean anything anymore," Le Pen told supporters at her campaign launch rally in Lyon. "The division is not between right and left anymore, but between patriots and pro-globalisation." In 144 "commitments" published on Saturday, Le Pen said she would drastically curb migration, expel all illegal migrants and reserve certain rights now available to all residents, including free education, to French citizens only. Her anti-EU National Front (FN) government would also take France out of the euro zone, hold a referendum on EU membership, slap taxes on imports and on the job contracts of foreigners. Buoyed by Trump's victory and Britons' vote to leave the European Union, Le Pen's party hopes for similar populist momentum in France. With hitherto favourite Francois Fillon, a conservative, embroiled in scandal over his wife's job and rising centrist star, Emmanuel Macron, yet untested, Le Pen's FN says it can thwart polls that see her losing in a second round run-off. Le Pen's anti-immigration, anti-EU policy platform appealed to supporters at the rally. "Do you think this is normal that a French family who has been working for all their life, can't not even pay for food to eat, while we are giving millions of euros to foreigners?" said construction worker Pierre Megias, after the rally. Le Pen's outsider status attracted 29-year-old teacher Anne-Sophie Legauffre. "When we see other candidates emerging, such as Emmanuel Macron, who is a banker, supported by bankers and so on...I don't think what he wants to fight for is the French identity," she said. The most recent polls indicate that Marine Le Pen would win the first round of the presidential election, but she would be beaten in the second round, whichever candidate she faces. On the other side of Lyon, far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon held a rally, as did centrist Macron, as candidates keep a close watch of each other's moves. (Reuters)

France election: Far-right Le Pen says 'This is our country!'

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)

&nbsp;

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

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen proposed&nbsp;Thursday&nbsp;that the children of illegal immigrants should be refused public school places as part of tough proposals to restrict state services.

&quot;I&#39;ve got nothing against foreigners but I say to them: if you come to our country, don&#39;t expect that you will be taken care of, treated (by the health system) and that your children will be educated for free,&quot; Le Pen said.

&quot;That&#39;s finished now, it&#39;s the end of playtime,&quot; she told an audience at a conference organised by a polling group in Paris.

The leader of the National Front (FN) is forecast by opinion polls to finish second in next year&#39;s presidential election but she is hoping for new momentum after the victory of Donald Trump in the United States.

Speaking to AFP afterwards, she clarified that she only wanted to block education for immigrants who are in the country illegally, not all foreigners.

But she said that any foreigner using the public education system without paying tax in France should have to contribute.&nbsp;

&quot;We&#39;re going to reserve our efforts and our national solidarity for the most humble, the most modest and the most poor among us,&quot; Le Pen told the conference. &nbsp;

The FN sees itself as part of a global revolt against immigration, established political parties and globalisation epitomised by Trump&#39;s victory last month.

It regularly criticises the use of France&#39;s chronically over-budget social security system for foreigners, arguing that French people should be prioritised.

Le Pen falsely claimed&nbsp;on Thursday&nbsp;that anyone aged over 65 could arrive in France and start claiming old-age social security payments.&nbsp;

Polls currently show her qualifying for the second-round of May&#39;s election where she is forecast to face -- and be defeated by -- rightwing Republicans party candidate Francois Fillon.

Few analysts see her as likely to take power, but the last 12 months has been an unpredictable year in politics and France&#39;s sickly economy and immigration are top issues for voters.

Le Pen wants to withdraw France from the eurozone and has called for a referendum on France&#39;s membership of the European Union.&nbsp;

Fillon has also taken a tough line on immigration in his programme, promising to reduce it to a &quot;strict minimum&quot; and calling on newcomers to adapt to French culture.

He has rejected the idea of &quot;multiculturalism&quot; and insists that France must defend its traditions, language and identity.

(AFP)

The French far-right leader said illegal immigrants should not get access to education because they don't pay taxes

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen proposed Thursday that the children of illegal immigrants should be refused public school places as part of tough proposals to restrict state services. "I've got nothing against foreigners but I say to them: if you come to our country, don't expect that you will be taken care of, treated (by the health system) and that your children will be educated for free," Le Pen said. "That's finished now, it's the end of playtime," she told an audience at a conference organised by a polling group in Paris. The leader of the National Front (FN) is forecast by opinion polls to finish second in next year's presidential election but she is hoping for new momentum after the victory of Donald Trump in the United States. Speaking to AFP afterwards, she clarified that she only wanted to block education for immigrants who are in the country illegally, not all foreigners. But she said that any foreigner using the public education system without paying tax in France should have to contribute. "We're going to reserve our efforts and our national solidarity for the most humble, the most modest and the most poor among us," Le Pen told the conference. The FN sees itself as part of a global revolt against immigration, established political parties and globalisation epitomised by Trump's victory last month. It regularly criticises the use of France's chronically over-budget social security system for foreigners, arguing that French people should be prioritised. Le Pen falsely claimed on Thursday that anyone aged over 65 could arrive in France and start claiming old-age social security payments. Polls currently show her qualifying for the second-round of May's election where she is forecast to face -- and be defeated by -- rightwing Republicans party candidate Francois Fillon. Few analysts see her as likely to take power, but the last 12 months has been an unpredictable year in politics and France's sickly economy and immigration are top issues for voters. Le Pen wants to withdraw France from the eurozone and has called for a referendum on France's membership of the European Union. Fillon has also taken a tough line on immigration in his programme, promising to reduce it to a "strict minimum" and calling on newcomers to adapt to French culture. He has rejected the idea of "multiculturalism" and insists that France must defend its traditions, language and identity. (AFP)

France: Illegal immigrants should be denied schooling, says Le Pen

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France&rsquo;s far-right National Front party, said in a magazine interview said that if she were American, she would vote for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. 
 
&quot;If I was American I would vote for anyone but Hillary Clinton. Between him and Hillary Clinton, it is clear that I would choose Donald Trump,&quot; Le Pen told the French magazine Valeurs Actuelles. 
 
&quot;What appeals to Americans is that he is a man free from Wall Street, from markets and from financial lobbies and even from his own party,&quot; she said. 
 
The anti-immigrant, anti-euro National Front was the only major French political party to call for Britons to vote to leave the European Union, hoping Brexit can boost its own eurosceptic agenda at home. 
 
Le Pen in the interview reiterated her call for a French referendum on European Union membership. 
 
(Reuters)

The anti-immigrant, anti-euro National Front was the only major French political party to call for Britons to vote to leave the EU

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Front party, said in a magazine interview said that if she were American, she would vote for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. "If I was American I would vote for anyone but Hillary Clinton. Between him and Hillary Clinton, it is clear that I would choose Donald Trump," Le Pen told the French magazine Valeurs Actuelles. "What appeals to Americans is that he is a man free from Wall Street, from markets and from financial lobbies and even from his own party," she said. The anti-immigrant, anti-euro National Front was the only major French political party to call for Britons to vote to leave the European Union, hoping Brexit can boost its own eurosceptic agenda at home. Le Pen in the interview reiterated her call for a French referendum on European Union membership. (Reuters)

France's Le Pen says she would vote for Trump

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Far-right Le Pen cancels meeting with Lebanon grand mufti after refusing to wear headscarf

France election: Far-right Le Pen says 'This is our country!'

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

France: Illegal immigrants should be denied schooling, says Le Pen

France's Le Pen says she would vote for Trump