Far-right Le Pen campaigns as French 'voice of the people'

VERNON, France (AP) — Far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Tuesday described France as a nation that would put its people’s voices at the center of the political process if she is elected president in 12 days.

Le Pen, a solid nationalist, faces centrist President Emmanuel Macron in a presidential runoff on April 24. He placed first and Le Pen second in Sunday’s first-round presidential vote that eliminated 10 other candidates. Both Le Pen and Macron are now aggressively campaigning to win an election that could upend France’s system of governance and Europe’s dynamics should Le Pen be victorious.

In a dramatic change, new laws could be passed or old laws modified in a referendum proposed by citizens, with conditions such as 500,000 signatures backing the proposal . Such a system was demanded two years ago by the sometimes violent yellow vest movement for social and economic justice that challenged Macron's government as being too business-friendly.

In Sunday’s first round of voting for the country's next president, the far-right, including Le Pen and two other parties, together won 32% of the vote, compared to Macron’s 27.8% support, although he was the top individual candidate. Still, that means far-right voters can be expected to factor into France’s political future not just in the next two weeks, but for years, even if Le Pen loses.

Le Pen also wants two-thirds of the 577 seats in France's lower house of parliament to be allotted by the proportional system to better reflect voters' choices. Her anti-immigration National Rally party currently holds 8 seats.

Le Pen claimed that democracy would be the main beneficiary of these changes, giving citizens who represent what she calls “the France of the forgotten” a say in how they are governed.

Having referendums can...