French far-right leader Marine Le Pen polling at record high ahead of 2027 election

Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader of France's Rassemblement National party, is leading in the polls for the 2027 presidential election, according to a recent survey. The survey, conducted by Toluna Harris Interactive for French broadcasters RTL and M6, predicts that Le Pen will win the election and secure a significant lead over other candidates. The survey of 1,764 registered voters aged 18 and over found that Le Pen is projected to win with at least 16 points ahead of any other candidate.

Le Pen's main opponent in the likely runoff is Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of the left-wing, pro-Palestinian party La France Insoumise. The survey indicates that Melenchon is likely to reach the second round and could ultimately win the election with 68% of the vote. If Le Pen and Melenchon face off in the second round, Le Pen is projected to win with 68% of the votes compared to Melenchon's 32%.

Le Pen has a history of running for president and losing to current President Emmanuel Macron, whose two-term limit has now been reached. Le Pen and her party were recently convicted of embezzlement for misappropriating €4.5m of European Parliament funds. However, the Paris appeal court reduced her sentence, allowing her to run in the 2027 election.

Le Pen's party has taken a more pro-Israel stance in recent years, distancing itself from its antisemitic past. In April, Le Pen reportedly met with Israel's ambassador to France, but France's strict boycott policy of far-right parties remains in place. Le Pen has criticized Macron's stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict and advocates for strict immigration policies, viewing the "Islamisation" of France as an existential threat.