Plagiarism or a ‘wink’? Le Pen lifts conservative’s speech
PARIS — Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen lifted verbatim parts of a speech by a former rival in what her critics called plagiarism and she said was a deliberate “wink” to him to woo his conservative voters in France’s presidential runoff Sunday.
The stolen words and casual reaction by Le Pen and her team marked the latest shocking development in a French presidential campaign like no other. Perhaps more surprisingly, there was little sign it would seriously damage Le Pen.
Polls consider her centrist rival Emmanuel Macron the front-runner in the vote, seen as a test of global populism and decisive moment for the European Union.
Le Pen borrowed from a speech delivered last month by Francois Fillon, the former Republicans party candidate, about France’s important role in Europe and the world.