12 months from the 2022 French presidential election, Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's far-right party the National Rally, is leading the sitting president Emanuel Macron in the polls.

Le Pen is an ultra-conservative nationalist who blames almost all of France's problems on globalisation, immigration and Islam. Her party is a hotbed for xenophobic and racist attitudes. 

But who is this politician? Where did she come from? And, what events helped form these attitudes?

To answer these questions, Tom speaks with Professor Cécile Alduy from Stanford University in California. 

Cécile Alduy is a professor of contemporary French politics, with expertise on the far-right as they relate to the question of French identity. 

In 2015, Alduy published a book in which she analysed the way Marine Le Pen uses language to broaden her party's support, helping her become the most popular politician in France today.

Marine Le Pen, the face of far-right politics in France

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