French must come before foreigners, insists far-right Marine Le Pen

Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader and frontrunner in the French presidency race, has stated that she would favour French citizens over foreigners. According to the South China Morning Post, Le Pen said that under her presidency, French people would "have priority in their own country", regardless of their skin colour, religion, or origin. This principle of "national priority" would apply to housing, with French citizens receiving preferential access to social housing.

Le Pen made these comments during her first major campaign speech in the northern town of Henin-Beaumont, a stronghold of her far-right National Rally party. The speech was attended by around 2,000 supporters, including Jordan Bardella, head of the National Rally party.

Le Pen's comments reflect her long-held principle of national priority, which she defended during the speech. According to The Local France, this principle is a key part of her campaign. France 24 reported that Le Pen launched her presidential campaign with a rally in Hénin-Beaumont despite wearing an electronic tag following her recent conviction.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Local France, South China Morning Post, France 24 — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.