Asked to know what the country would look like if she were elected, the candidate of the National Rally replied: "a quiet France, a serene France, a peaceful France, common sense" and which "projects itself", diverting a slogan -" quiet strength" - of the (victorious) campaign of François Mitterrand, elected in 1981 on his third attempt.

After visiting a covered market, where she took selfies and greeted traders, the candidate defended a France "where honest working people can live from their work, can build up a heritage, have a dignified retirement ( ...) not to be afraid when they go out in the street".

"Castagne"

Emmanuel Macron displayed on Friday his desire to "scrap" and go to "castagne", strongly attacking Marine Le Pen and his program which he described as "racist".

"An electoral competition is a confrontation of ideas, projects", "it's not a fight", replied Marine Le Pen, who is progressing in the polls, where his gap is narrowing with Mr. Macron.

Marine Le Pen challenged Emmanuel Macron "to find a single measure of (his) project that is based on discrimination by virtue of origin, skin color, religion".

The candidate wishes to include in the Constitution the "national priority", which breaks with the constitutional principle of equality.

"Giving an advantage to the French in France is perfectly legitimate," she defended.

"We're fed up with what we've been through so far. Why don't we try Marine Le Pen? She's not that evil," said a fruit and vegetable seller (who doesn't want to give her name), moved to tears after shaking her hand.

But she does not "think that Marine Le Pen will win", because "everyone will rise up against her".

Artichoke

Philippe Jorand, seller of olives, exchanged with the candidate on purchasing power, because with the current inflation, he "crops on the margins".

"Hold on, we're coming," launched Marine Le Pen, who made it the priority of her campaign, promising to lower VAT from 20% to 5.5% on fuel, electricity and gas.

Mr. Jorand hesitated between her and his rival Éric Zemmour but he now believes that the RN candidate is "one of the people who can change France".

However, his victory "it will be complicated against Mr. Macron", according to him, and he is "looking forward to seeing the debate" between two rounds on April 20.

"I hope she does better than last time."

The presidential candidate of the far-right RN party, Marine Le Pen, campaigning in a market in Narbonne, Aude, April 8, 2022 Lionel BONAVENTURE AFP

Marine Le Pen says she is not "dizzy" from a possible victory but recalls, drinking a glass of rosé, that "the artichoke is eaten leaf by leaf, first the first round, after the second".

At a meeting in Perpignan the day before, she had "conjured" her voters to "go vote", while the popular categories and young people, at the heart of her electorate, had shunned the ballot boxes at the regional level, preventing her from winning a single region. .

Before the market, Marine Le Pen laid a wreath at the foot of a monument to the French who disappeared from Algeria, in particular the harkis, believing that "the memory of this war is still vivid in the memory" of the French.

His party has long been the refuge of supporters of French Algeria.

© 2022 AFP