Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, the frontrunner in next year's French presidential election, formally launched her campaign on Sunday (October 25) with a promise to restore order and national confidence.

As France faces one of its most turbulent periods in years, Le Pen cast herself as the best placed to navigate what she described as mounting economic, social and security crises.

Addressing a crowd of cheering supporters, she promised "zero tolerance" policing and said restoring security was the state's first duty.

Mass protests over living costs and inequality last weekend saw, looting and vandalism erupt on the sidelines.

The street turmoil has given Le Pen a boost and an opinion poll published on Sunday put her on 32% to 33.5%, well ahead of her nearest rival, hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon on 17%, as voters desert mainstream parties for the political extremes.

Surveys suggest she would easily defeat Melenchon in a run-off ballot, expected to be held in early May.

Seeking to project optimism, Le Pen built her speech around the theme of a national "Renaissance". She said France was living through a period of upheaval but would emerge stronger if it embraced her vision of security, prosperity and renewal.

Le Pen promised a hard line on immigration, pledging to restore border controls, automatically expel foreign criminals and crack down on gangs and drug traffickers.

Le Pen herself could have to campaign wearing an ankle tag after she was convicted of embezzling European Parliament funds. She is appealing the court verdict.

On the economy, Le Pen pledged spending restraint, lower business taxes, reduced bureaucracy and support for industry, innovation and artificial intelligence. She rejected further increases in the retirement age.

The congress was designed to showcase unity at the top of the National Rally party, with Jordan Bardella re-elected party president and presented as Le Pen's choice for prime minister.

Bardella's speech was interrupted by activists from a Jewish student union, drawing attention to recent accusations he made antisemitic comments in his youth, which he denies.

Le Pen has spent more than a decade trying to transform the party she inherited from her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, in 2011, softening its image and broadening its appeal beyond its traditional anti-immigration base.

On Europe, Le Pen stopped short of advocating a French exit from the European Union, but said she would roll back Brussels' influence, restore national control over borders and laws, and put French interests first, including avoiding foreign wars.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

ORLEANS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 25, 2026) (MARINE LE PEN CAMPAIGN - No resales)

1. VARIOUS OF FRENCH FAR-RIGHT NATIONAL RALLY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, MARINE LE PEN, WALKING TO LECTERN DURING PARTY CONGRESS

2. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH FAR-RIGHT NATIONAL RALLY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, MARINE LE PEN, SAYING:

"The Renaissance is the will to draw from our history the materials, the values, the principles that will allow us to invent the future, our future. It is the ambition to make the coming times a new era of political, economic, artistic, architectural, and literary creation. As in the Renaissance, what we are proposing for our country is not a return to the past, but the advent of a new era, an era of freedom, an era of creative vitality to fully integrate France into the third millennium, to restore its power, its grandeur, and its influence."

3. LE PEN SPEAKING

4. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH FAR-RIGHT NATIONAL RALLY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, MARINE LE PEN, SAYING:

"A limit is the rule we follow, the hierarchy we respect. It is also the border we protect, because it protects us. For if we do not establish borders externally, my friends, we will be forced to erect them internally, and this is already happening, with codes, keys, access cards, gates, and reinforced doors now dictating the rhythm of our daily lives. We will re-establish our borders, and even a double border, French and European."

5. LE PEN SPEAKING

6. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH FAR-RIGHT NATIONAL RALLY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, MARINE LE PEN, SAYING:

"The rule of law is not about the law against the state, and even less so against the nation. The rule of law means curbing the feudal systems that threaten our freedoms. It means not allowing the law of the strongest, the most greedy, or, in certain neighbourhoods, the most cruel, to prevail. The rule of law means guaranteeing everyone respect for their physical integrity. It does not mean normalizing violence against people. Finally, as (party president) Jordan (Bardella) reminded us, we will apply the principle of "those who break things pay." And if they must pay for the rest of their lives, they will pay for the rest of their lives."

7. AUDIENCE APPLAUDING

8. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH FAR-RIGHT NATIONAL RALLY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, MARINE LE PEN, SAYING:

"We must restore our Constitution to its full value and strength by reinstating it as the fundamental law of the French people. No text, no authority, and certainly no foreign one, even European, will be superior to the constitution. The French nationality will once again become a privilege that is inherited or earned, to which a new right will be attached for all citizens, regardless of their origin, skin colour, or religion: national priority."

9. LE PEN SPEAKING

10. VARIOUS OF PARTY PRESIDENT, JORDAN BARDELLA, WALKING UP TO STAGE

11. BARDELLA REACHING LECTERN

12. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH FAR-RIGHT NATIONAL RALLY PARTY PRESIDENT, JORDAN BARDELLA, SAYING:

"We state it clearly here: France must never give in to violence. Republican order is non-negotiable. It is the condition of our freedom, our security, our life together. We want to restore this order wherever it has receded, in every city, in every neighbourhood, in every territory."

13. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH FAR-RIGHT NATIONAL RALLY PARTY PRESIDENT, JORDAN BARDELLA, SAYING:

"As head of government, I will request that far-left militias be placed on the European Union's list of terrorist organizations. There is no other way to describe those who want to sow terror and who appear armed at demonstrations. We will therefore also regain control of our borders and our immigration policy. France can no longer accommodate 500,000 illegal immigrants per year without exacerbating existing divisions. We will therefore systematically deport foreign offenders and criminals."

14. AUDIENCE CHEERING

15. BARDELLA AT LECTERN

16. BARDELLA KISSING LE PEN, FOLLOWED BY LEADER OF UDR PARTY, ERIC CIOTTI

17. LE PEN

18. VARIOUS OF LE PEN, BARDELLA AND OTHERS SINGING FRENCH NATIONAL ANTHEM, LA MARSEILLAISE