In a move that mirrors that of Melania Trump at the Republican National Convention last year, when she cribbed from a speech by Michelle Obama, France’s far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen took to the airwaves with a speech that appeared to borrow heavily from one made by her former conservative opponent, François Fillon.
In an apparent attempt to lure undecided voters in the countdown to Sunday’s runoff election, Le Pen on Monday (May 1) regurgitated parts of a speech which Fillon—who was knocked out in the last round of voting—made in April. She repeated verbatim what he said about France’s borders, its language, and a new “French way” for the 21st century.
Ridicule TV, a pro-Fillon online channel, created a side-by-side comparison video of the two speeches.
Florian Philippot, deputy chairman of Le Pen’s National Front party, told the AFP that Le Pen had used parts of Fillon’s speech on purpose to show that “she is not sectarian.” Her campaign manager called it a “little wink” to Fillon supporters.