Marine Le Pen launches her campaign promising a French "renaissance"

Speaking in Orléans on Sunday, the National Rally leader told 8,500 supporters her "renaissance" would bring no "brutal break" with the past. Polls give her a wide lead six months before the vote.

What's next

She said she would name Jordan Bardella prime minister if she wins, at the head of a government of national unity. Bardella promised to restore order by all legal means.

About 3,000 police and gendarmes guarded Orléans after protesters of 13,000 to 26,000 marched against the party's congress the day before.