Le Pen 'Suspends' Campaign, Focusing On Signatures To Get On Ballot

Right-wing Rassemblement National (National Rally, RN) leader Marine Le Pen announced earlier today a 'suspension' of her election campaign in order to focus resources on winning the requisite signatures to get onto the presidential ballot.

• In order to get on the presidential ballot, a candidate is required to gain the signatures of 500 parrainages - elected officials such as mayors, senators, MEPs.
• Despite generally polling in second or third place in nationwide polls, Le Pen is still short of the required number, as is far-right polemicist Eric Zemmour and far-left La France Insoumise leader Jean-Luc Melenchon. Earlier today Zemmour stated that he would not suspend his campaign in order to gain noinations, but instead 'reduce the sail' to try to reach 500.
• Le Pen has long criticised the parrianage system, saying that it favours larger parties even if they are low on support. Socialist Party candidate Anne Hidalgo has comfortably crossed the 500 signature threshold despite polling around 5% of the vote, putting her in a distant 7th place. Centre-right Les Republicains canidate Valerie Pecresse and incumbent President Emmanuel Macron have also secured enought signatures to get on the ballot.
• The deadline for securing the signatures is Friday 4 March, with the full list of candidates announced 8 March.
• Some moderate party leaders have said the signatures of their politicians could be lent to far-left or far-right candidates to get them on the ballot, arguing that even though they disagree with their politics, should they not be included in the election it could lead to civil unrest. As such, it is likely that Le Pen, Zemmour, and Melenchon will all get onto the ballot.