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Le Pen launches presidential campaign, vows to revive French oil prospecting

Speech to about 10,000 party members comes after nationwide cost-of-living protests and over 1,300 arrests.

Updated Oct 26, 2026 · 00:16 UTC4 reports

The short version

  • Marine Le Pen launched her presidential campaign on Sunday at the National Rally congress in Orléans.[Associated Press]
  • She pledged to revive oil prospecting and repeal the 2017 Hulot law if elected in May.[Associated Press]
  • Police made more than 1,300 arrests after nationwide cost-of-living protests, and the interior minister blamed ultra-left extremists for much of the violence.[France 24]
  • An Ipsos survey published Saturday suggested she would win 32 to 34 percent of first-round votes, an estimate rather than a result.[France 24]

Key facts

  • Marine Le Pen launched her presidential campaign as the National Rally candidate at the party's 19th Congress in Orléans.[France 24 · Associated Press]
  • Le Pen is scheduled to address about 10,000 party members at her campaign launch in Orléans.[France 24 · France 24]
  • Le Pen pledged to abolish the 2017 Hulot law, which banned new hydrocarbon exploration permits and shale gas extraction.[Associated Press]
  • Police estimated that 13,000 counter-protesters marched against Le Pen in Orléans on Saturday; organisers put the turnout at twice that.[France 24]
  • Police made more than 1,300 arrests after nationwide cost-of-living protests, and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez blamed much of the violence on ultra-left extremists.[France 24]
  • An Ipsos survey published Saturday suggested Le Pen would win 32 to 34 percent of first-round votes.[France 24]

What remains uncertain

  • The Ipsos figure is a survey estimate of first-round support, not an electoral result.[France 24]
  • Crowd figures conflict: police put the counter-protest at 13,000, while organisers said it was twice that size.[France 24]
  • Blame for the violence on ultra-left extremists is the interior minister's assessment, not an established finding in the reporting.[France 24]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.