Cheeky TV show becomes battleground in French election race

By JOHN LEICESTER
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — A French primetime television show that has long delighted in poking fun at Marine Le Pen has become a battleground in the far-right leader’s fierce contest with incumbent Emmanuel Macron for the French presidency. Macron said Wednesday that his challenger has shown “the real face of the extreme right” by excluding reporters from the “Quotidien” from her press conferences. The Le Pens, both Marine and her father Jean-Marie, have long been a target for irreverent coverage by the weekday evening show on channel TMC. It regularly casts a critical eye on French politics. Marine Le Pen isn’t a fan.