How Le Pen tried to soften image to reach French election runoff

Centrist Macron may find it hard to make criticism of far-right opponent's racist, anti-Muslim platform stick in next round

When the far-right Marine Le Pen posed for a selfie with a smiling teenager in a Muslim headscarf in Dunkirk on the northern coast, it was a turning point in the presidential campaign.

Le Pen wants to ban the Muslim headscarf from all public places, including the streets, calling it a uniform of totalitarian ideology". So after posing happily with a girl in hijab, she was attacked for going soft by her far-right rival, the TV pundit Eric Zemmour. Let me teach you about humanity," Le Pen shot back at one of Zemmour's lieutenants in a TV debate that went viral. What would you have done? Pulled her veil off and mistreated her?"