France's populist party just had its best electoral night ever. In the first round of regional elections on Sunday, the National Front (FN) came in first in six out of 14 regions, topping 40 percent of the score in two. Marine Le Pen, the FN's president, is riding high. But many are looking at her niece. And not just because she is young and, let's face it, beautiful. She may be the most interesting politician in France.
Let's get the obvious out of the way first. Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, who heads the FN's list in the South of France's Provence-Alpes Côte d'Azur, where the FN had its best score, is the niece of Marine Le Pen and granddaughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the longtime party leader. If she looks barely out of school, it's because she is. At 22, she was the youngest person ever elected to Parliament in the country's history; she even dropped out of a graduate program to fulfill her duties. Now 25, she is poised to be president of one of France's most significant regions.
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