Le Pen loses race for French parliament seat
Jun 17, 2012, 7:19 PM
PARIS (AP) – Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has lost her race for a parliamentary seat, but her anti-immigrant National Front party will have its first seats in parliament in years.
Le Pen said the initial count showed her losing to a Socialist in the coal-mining region of northern France by about 100 votes. She suggested she might seek a recount.
Le Pen has sought to bury the party’s racist reputation and came in a strong third in presidential elections in April. She wants to abandon the euro currency and stop immigration.
Her 22-year-old niece, party member Marion Marechal-Le Pen, won a seat in southern France. A nationally known lawyer, Gilbert Collard, said he also won a seat for the National Front.
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