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Marion Le Pen claimed her aunt's closest rival, the liberal independent candidate Emmanuele Macron, would eradicate what's left of the country's "Frenchness" by continuing to pursue a policy of EU intergration and open borders.

The 27-year-old, the Front National MP for Vaucluse in south east France, spoke of the sacrifices made by millions of Frenchmen during the First and Second World War, and said a vote for her aunt was a vote to defend what those men died for.

"Fathers, uncles, brothers went to sacrifice themselves so that France would stay French," she said during a speech in Sens, Burgandy, the Observer reported.

"If a century later we fail to ensure that France remains French, it will mean that their sacrifices were in vain and we will have betrayed our ancestors.

"Let us be worthy of our heritage. Vote Marine Le Pen."