Le Pen to Quit Presidency if French People Reject Proposal to Leave EU

Marine Le Pen, the leader of French far-right National Front (FN) party, said she would not remain president of France, if after her possible election French voters decided to stay within the European Union in a referendum, which is proposed in her program.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Saturday, the FN presidential candidate published her election program, compiling key proposals on immigration, economy, the European Union and other issues into 144 points. The first point in the manifesto suggests negotiations with the European Union on France's status, followed by a nationwide referendum on the membership of the bloc.

"There will be a referendum on leaving the European Union. If the French vote against secession from the European Union, why should I remain in power?" Le Pen said in an interview with the French TV news channel LCI.

Le Pen also noted that if the French did not vote for secession from the bloc and did not support other points of her program, her being a president would not make sense as it would be "lies on a daily basis."

Most recent polls indicate that the far-right candidate would move on to the second round of the elections with 26 percent of all votes, where she would face independent Emmanuel Macron, to whom she is projected to lose by a 35 percent to 65 percent margin. The ratings of the third main candidate, Republican Francois Fillon, dropped after the January outbreak of the scandal around his wife's possibly fake jobs.

The first round of French presidential election is scheduled for April 23. The run-off is supposed to take place on May 7.