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The elimination of former President Nicolas Sarkozy and Le Pen’s surge in the polls means that the National Front leader’s momentum will propel her into the Élysée Palace as the next French president, according to professor Jack Rasmus. In an interview with RT, the Professor of Political Economy at St. Mary's College claimed the French people want a leader who is going to bring change.

GETTY Le Pen is becoming a serious contender for the French presidency

Professor Rasmus said: “They don’t really care how extreme some of their positions may be - we saw that with Trump. "Nobody is going to vote for the Socialists. It’s really going to be Le Pen’s election to lose, I think." Speaking about the political situation in France, Rasmus said: "What you’ve got is a lot of working class and small business folks who are just fed up with the policies of the last decade, which have emphasised trade and tax benefits for the rich, the concentration of income and the loss of jobs with which people can sustain themselves.

Nobody is going to vote for the Socialists. It’s really going to be Le Pen’s election to lose, I think Professor Jack Rasmus

He added: "I think Le Pen is in a very strong position here because people are just rejecting the old parties associated with the old policies. Eurosceptic Le Pen has vowed to launch a referendum on France's continued EU membership if she wins the election next year and claimed she is "fighting in the name of the people". Mr Rasmus likened Le Pen's campaign to the success of Trump as well as the influence of Ukip in forcing a referendum onto the agenda and managing to convince Britons to vote to leave the EU.

GETTY Outgoing president Francois Hollande was voted the most unpopular president in France's history

Marion Le Pen in pictures Tue, May 9, 2017 Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, niece of defeated French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and a National Front lawmaker, announced that she will not run for re-election in the June legislative elections Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 13 Marion Marechal-Le Pen will announce that she leaves her political mandates, according to the far-right National Front