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The gloomy comments were made during a round the table debate on French TV, just 24 hours before France votes on its new president for the first time. The Front National leader is widely expected to succeed to the final stage of the two-leg race, followed closely by centrist Emmanuel Macron. Le Pen has seen a surge in support after flirting with the idea of removing France from the European Union, as well as questioning the country’s Nato membership.

GETTY•FRANCE 24 French journalist Christopher Dickey made a gloomy prediction if Marine Le Pen was victorious

It’s the end of the world as we know it actually Christopher Dickey

However, during a debate on France 24, Christopher Dickey, a Paris journalist, warned there would be a far-reaching impact if Marine Le Pen was victorious. The Frenchman cautioned: “It’s a threat to Nato, it’s the end of the world as we know it actually.” In the 30-minute debate, titled 'After Brexit and Trump: The world waits on French presidential election', fellow French journalist Pierre Haski also told of stark consequences if the Front National were successful.

FRANCE 24 The stark warning was issued during a debate ahead of the first-round vote on Sunday

He warned any Eurosceptic president succeeding in the race would spell disaster for the continent after left-wing Unsubmissive France candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon also came out in favour of reviewing the country’s EU membership. Mr Haski said: “Europe is watching this election with anxiety because if you have one of the many anti-European candidates who wins, it’s the end of Europe as we known it for the past six decades. “So the stakes are very, very high.”

GETTY The Front National candidate is widely tipped to make the final round

Meanwhile, Le Pen has won the support of US President Donald Trump, who described her as the “strongest candidate”. The Front National leader, dubbed France’s Trump, has built her campaign on populist anger which similarly helped the Republican to unexpectedly beat his rival Hillary Clinton. Although Mr Trump stopped short of endorsing her, he told the Associated Press Le Pen is “strongest on borders, and she’s the strongest on what’s been going on in France”.

Things you didn't know about Marine Le Pen Fri, May 5, 2017 Marine Le Pen is a French politician who is the president of the National Front, a national-conservative political party in France and one of its main political forces. Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 10 Described as more democratic and republican than her nationalist father, she has led a movement of "de-demonization of the Front National" to detoxify it and soften its image