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ELECTION BATTLEGROUND

Marine Le Pen attacked on stage by ‘topless’ woman with bunch of flowers – after violent street clashes between protesters and cops

MARINE Le Pen was attacked on stage by a topless woman with with a bunch of flowers as her campaign rally was marred by protesters throwing missiles at police.

The French right-wing leader addressed around 5,000 Front National (FN) supporters at the Zenith concert hall in the north of the city this afternoon, ahead of the upcoming presidential elections.

Marine Le Pen was attacked by a woman wielding a bunch of flowers on stage
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Marine Le Pen was attacked by a woman wielding a bunch of flowers on stageCredit: Rex Features
Security tackled the topless protester and dragged her off the stage
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Security tackled the topless protester and dragged her off the stageCredit: Rex Features
Protesters hurl missiles at riot police in Paris this afternoon
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Protesters hurl missiles at riot police in Paris this afternoonCredit: Reuters
Menacing masked demonstrators clashed with cops ahead of Marine Le Pen's rally
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Menacing masked demonstrators clashed with cops ahead of Marine Le Pen's rallyCredit: Rex Features
Police fired tear gas back at the demonstrators in an attempt to disperse them
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Police fired tear gas back at the demonstrators in an attempt to disperse themCredit: Rex Features
Le Pen addressed supporters at the Zenith concert hall in northern Paris
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Le Pen addressed supporters at the Zenith concert hall in northern ParisCredit: Reuters

But there was chaos on the streets outside as menacing masked demonstrators dressed in black clashed with cops.

Troublemakers hurled objects including rocks, chunks of wood and smoke bombs at riot police standing between them and the venue.

Officers were seen firing tear gas back in an attempt to keep the mob at bay.

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FN lawmaker Gilbert Collard told reporters on arriving at the hall that he was hit in the neck by a beer bottle and that other objects were aimed at him before police intervened.

Another FN official, Jean Messiha, said he saw Molotov cocktails being thrown.

But the protests were not confined to outside the arena.

Crowds of demonstrators approach police down the road in northern Paris
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Crowds of demonstrators approach police down the road in northern ParisCredit: EPA
Tear gas canisters land next to troublemakers throwing rocks at cops
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Tear gas canisters land next to troublemakers throwing rocks at copsCredit: EPA
Clouds of tear gas fill the street as the sun goes down this afternoon
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Clouds of tear gas fill the street as the sun goes down this afternoonCredit: EPA
Cops huddle together behind their shields as they are pelted with missiles
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Cops huddle together behind their shields as they are pelted with missilesCredit: EPA

During Le Pen's speech, a topless woman jumped onto the stage and attacked her with a bunch of flowers.

Armed security officers tackled the protester to the ground before dragging her away.

And a topless female protester later shouted out from the middle of the concert hall in an apparent protest against the candidate.

Opinion polls have for months shown Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron qualifying on Sunday for the May 7 run-off.

But the gap with conservative Francois Fillon and far-leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon has been tightening.

Protesters earlier marched through the streets demonstrating against the FN
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Protesters earlier marched through the streets demonstrating against the FNCredit: Rex Features
Protesters lit smoke bombs and chanted slogans against Marine Le Pen
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Protesters lit smoke bombs and chanted slogans against Marine Le PenCredit: Rex Features
Demonstrators waved the banners of anti-fascist groups and chanted
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Demonstrators waved the banners of anti-fascist groups and chantedCredit: Reuters
Protesters deface a campaign poster showing Marine Le Pen's face
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Protesters deface a campaign poster showing Marine Le Pen's faceCredit: EPA
Riot police stand next to another defaced poster as they block the road
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Riot police stand next to another defaced poster as they block the roadCredit: EPA
The protests began to turn ugly as troublemakers hurled missiles at riot cops
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The protests began to turn ugly as troublemakers hurled missiles at riot copsCredit: EPA

Addressing her supporters, Le Pen said: "The choice on Sunday is simple – it is a choice between a France that is rising again and a France that is sinking."

She pledged to suspend all immigration and shield voters from "savage globalisation", telling the crowd: "Mass immigration is not an opportunity for France – it's a tragedy for France."

She also attacked the EU and its border-free Schengen area, saying: "The French sometimes have fewer rights than foreigners – even illegal ones."

 

The protests soon turned ugly and police fired tear gas to disperse the crowds
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The protests soon turned ugly and police fired tear gas to disperse the crowdsCredit: Rex Features
A woman appears to kick out at cops in riot gear policing the protest this afternoon
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A woman appears to kick out at cops in riot gear policing the protest this afternoonCredit: Rex Features
A demonstrator kicks away a tear gas canister after it was fired by police
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A demonstrator kicks away a tear gas canister after it was fired by policeCredit: Reuters
Some threw huge rocks at officers standing between them and the FN event
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Some threw huge rocks at officers standing between them and the FN eventCredit: Reuters
One FN official claimed to have seen Molotov cocktails being thrown
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One FN official claimed to have seen Molotov cocktails being thrownCredit: Rex Features

While no polls have shown Le Pen missing out on the run-off, any two of the top four candidates have a chance of qualifying.

Polls have consistently shown her losing in the second round.

With pollsters saying record high numbers of voters might not bother turning out, convincing people to go to the polling stations on Sunday is key.

The FN firebrand urged her supporters: "Fight for victory until the very last minute.

"If every patriot can this week convince just one abstentionist – just one undecided voter – we are sure to win!"

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