The leader of the French National party Marine Le Pen. PHOTO: REUTERS
PARIS: In a speech on Monday, far-right French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen copied comments made two weeks earlier by Francois Fillon, the former front-runner who was eliminated in the first round of the election, AFP has found.
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On April 15, Fillon made a speech in Puy-en-Velay in which he made specific mention of the geography of France's borders, paid tribute to the French language and spoke of a third "French way" for the 21st century.
At her rally Monday in Villepinte, Le Pen repeated almost verbatim these passages from Fillon's speech. Fillon had also quoted from World War I prime minister Georges Clemenceau and writer Andre Malraux. In her speech ahead of Sunday's second round run-off, Le Pen also used the same quotes.
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Asked by AFP about the apparent plagiarism, Florian Philippot, deputy chairman of Le Pen's National Front party, said it was "a nod to a short passage in a speech about France" on the part of "a candidate that shows she is not sectarian".
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