"It is not yet a victory because there will be a second round. Even if the National Front scored last weekend, it will be completely isolated and incapable to ally with no one else in the final round," Mariani, who is also a former French transport minister, said, adding that Le Pen's party at the most might win in two regions out of the total 16.
He expressed confidence that in the final ballot, The Republicans party could win the presidency of the region.
"There is almost no chance that Marine Le Pen will win presidential elections in 2017. First of all, let’s not forget that turnout on these regional elections was slightly over 50 percent. Normally, for the presidential elections a turnout is over 80 percent. Secondly, Marine Le Pen may be able to win the first round of the presidential elections but will not win the final round," the French lawmaker stressed.
According to Mariani, the National Front has a track record of being quite successful during the first rounds but never wins, as was the case during the elections in March.
During the latest departmental elections, the FN received the second most votes after former French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s Union for a Popular Movement party.
