Le Pen's campaign hit by niece calling rival far-right Zemmour a better candidate

FILE PHOTO: French far-right leader Marine Le Pen listens during a joint news conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest, Hungary, October 26, 2021. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - Marine Le Pen's niece Marion Marechal, a popular figure among far-right French voters, on Friday said Eric Zemmour was a better presidential candidate, piling woes onto a campaign already troubled by the defection of two EU lawmakers.

Le Pen ranks second or third in opinion polls that show a tussle among right and far-right candidates to win a second-round runoff spot against President Emmanuel Macron in the April elections. Macron himself is leading polls and seen as likely to secure the other spot.