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Front National leader Marine Le Pen has again surged in the polls in France as she attempts to become the country's first female president. Mrs Le Pen is continuing to gain ground on her opponents as the hotly anticipated election gets set to shake the country to its very foundations. According to a poll by Opinionway Le Pen is in the lead of the first round of voting in the French presidential election.

Topless protester blasts Marine Le Pen Fri, February 24, 2017 A topless protester burst into a hall where French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen was delivering a foreign policy speech chanting 'Marine, pretend feminist' Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 9 Marine Le Pen gestures after a press conference focused on the theme 'France's international policy in a multipolar world'

Voting for Le Pen in the first round might be a good way of giving the system a slap in the face Baker Carole Tremblais

She is tipped to get 26 per cent, Emmanuel Macron has dropped to just 23 per cent while scandal-hit Francois Fillon is on just 21 per cent. Mr Macron who has been forced to apologise over comments he made on colonisation is still polling to beat Le Pen in any run-off by 61 per cent to 39 per cent. The statistics come as it was revealed Mr Fillon will face a criminal invesitgation over allegations he paid his wife and two children for 'fake' jobs. French prosecutors had now appointed a magistrate to investigate allegations could put a further dent in his election chances.

GETTY Marine Le Pen is popular with the French police

However, it is being suggested that France is steadying itself for a shocking win for Mrs Le Pen as members of the public speak out on why they are planning to back the Front National party. According to a new report the public in France is reacting badly to corruption scandals, public spending and broken promises. One woman, Baker Carole Tremblais, who lives in the town of Descartes echoed the sentiment of the public with certainty. She told Bloomberg: “Voting for Le Pen in the first round might be a good way of giving the system a slap in the face. “The politicians in power have no idea what living on the minimum wage is like. Immigrants are treated better than the French are.”

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

GETTY Marine Le Pen is continuing to gain ground on her opponents as the polls narrow

Mrs Le Pen's strategy on Europe could be working on the electorate in a society more and more concerned about the EU. Almost 12 years ago 10 countries in the European Union decided they would allow the public to go to the ballot box to decide whether they would support the EU constitution. But after France and the Netherlands voted overwhelmingly to remove themselves from the bloc's constitution, six other countries cancelled their referendums.

And France and the Netherlands simply ignored the will of their people after they overwhelmingly rejected Brussels. The crunch vote on the EU in both countries sent shockwaves through the establishment – prompting the UK, Portugal, Poland, Denmark, Ireland and the Czech Republic to cancel their votes.

In France almost 55 per cent of people voted No with 45 per cent in favour, with a turnout of 70 per cent. The result in France was described as a "political earthquake" that would shake the foundations of the EU administration to its core. French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin was quickly replaced by Dominique de Villepin and Nicolas Sarkozy became Minister of the Interior.