Former UKIP Leader: Macron's Policies May Make Le Pen President in 2022 Election

The policies of newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron may pave the way for Marine Le Pen's victory in 2022 French presidential election, Member of the European Parliament and former UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage told Sputnik on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Andrew Feinberg — French President-elect Emmanuel Macron’s policies may lead to a victory for the far-right politician Marine Le Pen in the 2022 election, Farage said.

"Macron offers five more years of failure, more power to the EU, and a continuation of open borders," Farage said. "If Marine sticks in there, she can win in 2022."

Farage had been a strong supporter of Le Pen, who he hoped would continue 2016’s wave of victories for nationalist causes and candidates like Brexit and Donald Trump. But Le Pen conceded to the centrist Macron late Sunday after he received more than 66 percent of votes compared with her total of just under 34 percent.

The policy positions French voters endorsed by electing Macron are the polar opposite of what Le Pen campaigned on. Le Pen’s campaign was centered around her staunch opposition to France’s membership in both the European Union and its use of the euro common currency.

Le Pen promised to bring back the franc as France’s national currency and to hold a referendum on "Frexit" to allow France to leave the European Union.

Macron, by contrast, had long supported greater cooperation and integration with the EU on financial, environmental, and other types of regulations.

Macron’s campaign rallies were often filled with waving EU flags, and when he ascended the dais to speak at his victory rally, he did so not to La Marseillaise (the French national anthem), but to the anthem of the European Union.