Marine Le Pen launches French presidential bid as protests rattle the nation

Marine Le Pen launched her bid for the French presidency from Orléans, framing France’s unrest as a cluster of economic, social and security crises she said she is best positioned to manage. In her first campaign speech, she drew on Orléans’ ties to Joan of Arc and promised “zero tolerance” policing, calling security the state’s first duty. The comments came as mass protests over cost-of-living and inequality last weekend escalated into looting and vandalism, and more demonstrations continued on Saturday, with more than 400,000 people attending. An opinion poll reported ahead of the event put Le Pen at 32% to 33.5%, ahead of Jean-Luc Mélenchon at 17%.