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Marine Le Pen has been unanimously re-elected as the leader of France’s far-right National Front with 100 percent of the vote at its annual conference in Lyon. The result was a foregone conclusion since she was the only candidate.
Now Le Pen has been formally appointed leader, her sights are clearly set on the presidential elections in 2017. Polls say she would only make it through the first round of voting, so she is looking to conquer more territory.
It was reported earlier in the week that the party was in talks to receive a 40 million euro loan from a Kremlin-linked bank, which would be a big boost to the campaign coffers.
The choice of Lyon, the left-wing bastion, for the party’s conference was a controversial one.
Protests against the National Front meeting in the city descended into violence.
The organisers said that people wearing masks infiltrated the demo and began breaking windows.
At least fourteen people were arrested, and eleven police officers were injured in the scuffles.