The situation deteriorated further over the past weekend, when masked protesters set buildings on fire, looted shops and clashed with police. Amid the violence, Le Pen sought to position herself as a leader capable of restoring law and order, blaming left-wing groups and decades of immigration policies for the unrest.
Her televised-style address also attracted attention for its presentation. Seated behind a desk with the French flag beside her, Le Pen appeared to be addressing the public in the manner of a sitting president.
Macron is currently on a tour of West Asia, leaving Le Pen an opportunity to intensify her criticism of his leadership while presenting herself as a potential alternative. However, she offered no concrete evidence to support her claim that immigrants were involved in the violence. French authorities have also not blamed immigrants for the unrest.
Le Pen has long made immigration and law and order central issues in her political agenda. The current violence has provided another opportunity to advance those positions. She claimed that radical left-wing groups were behind the demonstrations and had formed an alliance with young people living in deprived neighbourhoods. A large proportion of France's Muslim population lives in these areas, and many families have roots in other countries.
Le Pen's party has also pointed to the presence of Palestinian and Algerian flags among some protesters to support its claims. However, the presence of such flags does not establish the identities of those involved in the violence or prove their role in the unrest.
In her address, Le Pen said, "In six months, the French people will be able to choose a different path, one where firmness and security will be restored." Her remarks have been viewed as an attempt to present herself as an alternative to Macron ahead of the presidential election.
A French election pollster told The Wall Street Journal that Le Pen was speaking as though she were already occupying the presidential office. Nathalie Loiseau, a centre-right lawmaker who opposes Macron, also said the far right was benefiting the most from the current unrest.
According to a recent Ifop poll cited in the report, Le Pen received 54 per cent support, compared with 46 per cent for former prime minister Édouard Philippe. Philippe is considered a potential successor to Macron's centrist political approach.
Macron himself cannot run for president again next year because the French Constitution prohibits a president from serving more than two consecutive five-year terms. Consequently, the next election will also be significant for determining his political legacy and the electoral performance of his party.
The unrest has also allowed Le Pen to intensify her criticism of Macron's economic policies, which she has described as damaging to France. The country's fiscal deficit has remained above 5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for several years, while government debt has reached approximately 120 per cent of GDP.
Paul Taylor of the European Policy Centre wrote in The Guardian that France's economic position had left Macron with limited room to offer relief to protesters.
With public discontent extending beyond school conditions to living costs, public services and economic pressures, the unrest has become a significant political challenge for Macron. At the same time, Le Pen is using the crisis to strengthen her law-and-order message and position herself for the next presidential contest, even as her allegations about immigration and the protesters' identities remain unsupported by concrete evidence.
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