Marine Le Pen said she stepped down as head of the National Front party to campaign for president as a "free" candidate who could represent "all the French people."
Speaking in an interview with France 2 television, the candidate says she wants to rally French voters around her candidacy. Le Pen says she needs "only 10 little points" to win the election on May 7, citing polls that show independent rival Emmanuel Macron would beat her by a margin of 60 percent to 40 percent.
Macron: The romance of the teacher’s pet
Macron, who created his political movement one year ago, has received endorsements from former Republican rival Francois Fillon and President Francois Hollande, a Socialist, as the establishment parties unite against Le Pen.
Le Pen became the head of the National Front in 2011, succeeding her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen.
