Marine Le Pen promises to reform EU if voted to power in French presidential race

The right-wing contender in the French presidential race, Marine Le Pen has assured on Saturday that if she wins, she will replace the European Union (EU) with a European coalition of nations. During a campaign rally in the northeastern city of Reims, the leader of the National Rally, Le Pen said, “We will reform the European Union and replace it with the European alliance of nations," Sputnik reported. 

Le Pen who is a vocal opponent of the EU and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), stated that her government will try to increase France's prominence at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), where it is a permanent member. She chastised the "logic of military blocs" and pledged to exclude France from NATO command structures in order to safeguard France's national interests and avoid getting drawn into other countries' crises. 

Marine Le Pen's far-right party sees slew of defections in run-up to the April election

In addition to this, earlier in the month of January, Marine Le Pen told supporters to "leave now" if they wanted to go as her far-right party experienced a slew of defections in the run-up to the April election. During a meeting of European far-right leaders in Madrid, she told, “Those who want to leave can do so but they need to do it now,” Sky News reported.  

These Le Pen's remarks came after her niece endorsed Le Pen's presidential competitor, Eric Zemmour, claiming he was a better candidate for the nation's election. Marion Marechal, her niece, said in an interview with the French daily Le Parisien that her aunt lacked "logic and vision," Sky News reported. Marechal is a well-known figure among far-right supporters, and there has long been speculation about an ideological split between the two. 

Furthermore, Le Pen's father was the leader of the National Rally for years before she took over in 2011, and the party had dominated far-right politics for a long time, but it had never won a national election. 

(Image: AP)