France's Le Pen on track for regional power with an eye on presidency

Winning in a vast region like this, with a budget of billions, would mark a turning point for her party, which currently controls just a dozen town halls in France and only one city. In the market, Rose pauses her shopping to confide that the party's new image is indeed winning over some conservatives. "For a long time, a vote for the National Rally was a vote of protest against mainstream parties," says Jean-Philippe Dubrulle of the Ifop polling agency. "That's changed since Emmanuel Macron's victory [in 2017] erased mainstream parties. Now you have a situation where, if you don't agree with Mr Macron - and a majority of French don't agree with him - the most efficient way to express that is to vote for Marine Le Pen.". "People say they're going to vote for them now, but at the last minute they won't. We have bad memories of the party and its racist past."

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