French must come first, far-right leader Le Pen says at election campaign launch

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, a front-runner in the upcoming presidential election, announced on Sunday that she would prioritize the interests of French citizens over those of foreigners, upholding her longstanding principle of "national priority". Speaking seven months before the polls, Le Pen, 58, stated that French people would "have priority in their own country", irrespective of race, religion, or origin.

"We will guarantee all French citizens a natural and fair right, as is done in every country in the world," she declared during her first major campaign speech of her fourth presidential run, held in the far-right stronghold of Henin-Beaumont in northern France. French nationals would enjoy "more rights in France than others," she told around 2,000 supporters, with Jordan Bardella, the head of her party National Rally, seated in the front row.

The policy of "national priority" would extend to housing, Le Pen said, adding that French citizens should receive preferential access to social housing. Another priority would be to boost housing supply, she said, suggesting the scrapping of various environmental regulations. "There is nothing, my friends, more rewarding than the feeling of harmony in one's home and being able to say: 'I am at home'," she said.

"This presidential election will decide everything: either we allow our country to sink deeper into the quicksand of old habits and wrongdoing, or we choose the surge of renewal that we want and that will lead to France's rebirth."