Le Pen calls for government to immediately reinstate French borders after Paris attack
French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has urged the government to immediately restore state borders and expel foreigners monitored by surveillance after a suspected terror attack in Paris.
In reaction to Thursday’s assault claimed by Islamic State, in which one police officer was killed and two others were wounded, Le Pen demanded the Socialist government enact the measures proposed in her manifesto as a matter of urgency, according to Reuters.
“We cannot afford to lose this war. But for the past ten years, left-wing and right-wing governments have done everything they can for us to lose it. We need the presidency which acts and protects us,” Le Pen told reporters at the National Front headquarters on Friday.
Le Pen has consistently spoken about immigration and security issues throughout the campaign though has struggled to win backing over her position to pull out of the euro zone and single currency.
The French electorate will vote for a new premier in a two-round vote on April 23 and May 7.
The National Front leader admonished outgoing Socialist President Francois Hollande as “notoriously feeble”, before adding: “Elected President of the Republic, I would immediately, and with no hesitation, carry out the battle plan against Islamist terrorism and against judicial laxity.”
Le Pen has long argued French authorities have not done enough to secure the safety of its citizens from attacks like Thursday’s shooting on the Champs Elysees. Such attacks in France have claimed the lives of more than 230 people since the beginning of 2015.
Le Pen, according to the latest opinion polls, runs neck and neck with centrist frontrunner and political rival, Emmanuel Macron, with both expected to make it to the second run-off vote two weeks later.Macron, the former economy minister, said Le Pen’s solutions to attacks were not as simple as she had suggested.
“I’ve heard Madame Le Pen saying again recently that with her in charge, certain attacks would have been avoided. There’s no such thing as zero risk. Anyone who pretends, otherwise is both irresponsible and deceitful,” he told RTL Radio on Friday.
With just two days to go until the first round of the election contest, it remains unclear if the attack will have an impact on the French electorate come Sunday.
Meanwhile, embattled conservative presidential candidate, Francois Fillon said if he is elected France’s new premier, he would invite the U.S. and Russia to join France in forming a global coalition to combat “Islamist totalitarianism”.
“My foreign policy would be focused, in priority, on destroying Islamic State (IS) … This will only be possible the day the major powers will truly act together,” said Fillon, who polls alongside far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon in third and fourth respectively.
Source: CNBC
