First Michelle and Melania, now Fillon and Le Pen
French journalists and TV hosts Christophe Jakubyszyn (L) and Nathalie Saint-Cricq pose on set on the eve of a face-to-face TV debate between the candidates in the 2017 French presidential election, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, in La Plaine Saint Denis, outside Paris, May 2, 2017.
In a speech Monday, far-right French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen copied comments made two weeks earlier by Francois Fillon, the former frontrunner who was eliminated in the first round of the election, AFP has found.
On April 15, Fillon made a speech in Puy-en-Velay in which he made specific mention of the geography of France's borders, paid tribute to the French language and spoke of a third "French way" for the 21st century.
At her rally Monday in Villepinte, Le Pen repeated almost verbatim these passages from Fillon's speech.
Fillon had also quoted from World War I prime minister Georges Clemenceau and writer Andre Malraux.
In her speech ahead of Sunday's second round run-off against far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon, Le Pen also used the same quotes.
Florian Philippot, the vice president of Le Pen's National Front party, said it was "not plagiarism," but "a nod to a short passage in a speech about France."
Le Pen and Macron will face off Wednesday in what promises to be a fiery TV debate when the far-right leader is likely to sharpen her attacks on a candidate she says embodies "the world of finance, of arrogance, of money as king."
Macron fought off accusations Tuesday from Le Pen that he was controlled by banks.
"I am not under the thumb of the banks. If I were, I would have continued to work for them," he told BFMTV news channel.