Le Pen now the pick of 17% of electorate

By Katrin Bennhold
November 30th, 2006

PARIS: While France’s other presidential candidates are busy vying for airtime and holding campaign rallies, Jean-Marie Le Pen is heading off to the Caribbean for a two-week vacation.

The veteran leader of the far-right National Front is in good spirits. Five months ahead of presidential elections, opinion polls show him with almost twice the support he had ahead of the 2002 ballot, when he stunned France by coming in second.

Le Pen says he is not worried about temporarily vanishing to the beach. For months he has watched his ratings climb as media attention stayed firmly focused on the two main contenders: Ségolène Royal on the left and Nicolas Sarkozy on the right.

Some commentators have compared him to a crocodile, lurking dangerously under water. He prefers another image.

“I’m like Zorro,” Le Pen said in an interview at National Front headquarters this week. “You rarely see him, but you know he’s there.” (….Full Article Here)