Marine Le Pen. Photo: Front National.

Reuters – French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said on Wednesday she hoped disillusioned conservatives would join a new patriotic coalition she is creating in the hope of winning seats in parliament for the first time in a quarter of a century.

Le Pen, who surprised in April’s first-round presidential vote when almost one in five voters chose her, has refused to endorse conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in Sunday’s presidential run-off.

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