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Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party has withdrawn its candidate for France's parliamentary elections after a photo emerged of her wearing a Nazi hat.
It concerns Ludivine Daoudy, the candidate for the north-western Calvados constituency. She obtained nearly 20 percent of the vote in the first round of the elections held on Sunday, which the National Front party won at the national level.
The photo of Daoudi was shared by Emma Forro, a candidate for the left-wing electoral coalition New Popular Front (NFP). It is a screenshot from Daoudi's Facebook page, showing her wearing a German air force officer's cap with a swastika on it.
Fourreau shared that photo on X with a call not to vote for RN in the second round of elections next Sunday:
A spokesman for the RN in Calvados told local media that Daoudi had admitted wearing the hat. “This photo was taken several years ago at an arms fair in Saint-Pierre-sur-Dive. She admits that the photo was in bad taste.” Her nomination was immediately withdrawn, the spokesman added.
Daoudi's withdrawal means Calvados voters can vote for two remaining candidates on Sunday: Forro, who came in second the day before yesterday, and Joël Bruno of the right-wing Republicans party.
The second round is exciting.
The French parliamentary elections are held in two rounds. At the end of last week, the National Front won the first round with 33% of the vote. The left-wing NFP coalition took 28%, while President Macron’s coalition remained stuck at 21%.
On Sunday, the French will go to the polls again in hundreds of constituencies that have yet to win. Only candidates who have won at least 12.5 percent of the vote in the first round will be on the ballot. In France, parties often negotiate between the first and second rounds to increase their chances of success.
Le Monde reports that at 1:30 p.m., more than 200 candidates had already withdrawn: 127 politicians from left-wing parties and 75 from Macron's camp. This is seen as a strategic move to contain the National Front. Opponents of the RN hope that the largest number of votes will be cast for the candidate running against the RN in the constituency.
These are the French people's options in the elections:
These are the French people's choices in the elections
