Niece of France’s Le Pen held as rising star quits politics
PARIS — The niece of defeated far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen announced Tuesday that she’s leaving political life, at least temporarily, citing “personal and political reasons.”
Marion Marechal-Le Pen had been seen as a rising star of the nationalist and anti-immigration National Front party. She is one of two lawmakers in the outgoing lower house of parliament affiliated with the party.
Marechal-Le Pen, 27, said in a letter published in a regional newspaper that she won’t run for re-election in June to represent her southeast Vaucluse district.
The younger Le Pen called her decision a “heartbreak.” She said she wanted to spend more time with her young daughter and been interested in working in civil society “for some time” because she “loves the world of business.”