French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen steps down as her party's leader

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen stepped down as head of National Front on April 24.

Pen announced her decision to temporarily “take leave” of the presidency of the National Front, the party founded by her father, remaining only the presidential candidate, after storming into the second round of the French presidential election.

Ms Le Pen tweeted: “I take leave of the presidency of the @FN_officiel: I am only the candidate for the presidential.”

"Je me mets en congé de la présidence du @FN_officiel : je ne suis plus que la candidate à la présidentielle." #JT20h pic.twitter.com/4XaLe8rcIq

— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) April 24, 2017

Her announcement came just a day after she and Emmanuel Macron were announced as the final two presidential candidates.

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The pair will go head-to-head on May 7, when voters return to the polls.

The surprise move has been interpreted as an attempt to woo the moderate voters she will need to win the presidency.

Le Pen has worked to bring in voters from the left and right for several years, cleaning up her party's racist, anti-Semitic image to do so.

Much of the antagonism towards the Front Nationale stems from its association with her father, the convicted racist and Holocaust denier Jean-Marie Le Pen, who is now 88.

He founded the party in 1972, at a time when it was associated with street violence and hatred of foreigners.