French far-right leader makes Time 100 most influential

The annual list does not rank candidates, but groups them together into five categories of titans, pioneers, artists, leaders and icons.

By (AFP)

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Published: Thu 16 Apr 2015, 7:34 PM

Last updated: Thu 25 Jun 2015, 8:38 PM

US President Barack Obama, rapper Kanye West, reality star Kim Kardashian and French far-right leader Marine Le Pen were among those named 100 most influential people by Time magazine Thursday.

France's National Front political party leader Marine Le Pen attends a meeting of the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade in Brussels on April 14, 2015.  -  Reuters

The annual list does not rank candidates, but groups them together into five categories of titans, pioneers, artists, leaders and icons.

It includes contributors writing about other people on the list, such as Obama on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Pope Francis and Hillary Clinton on fellow politician Elizabeth Warren.

Also on the list are Pope Francis, head of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen, 31-year-old billionaire Elizabeth Holmes, dancer Misty Copeland, actresses Reese Witherspoon and Emma Watson, and astronaut Scott Kelly.

Among those categorized as leaders were Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Cuban President Raul Castro, Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power.

Le Pen’s ascendancy to the list comes with the National Front leader locked in a feud with her father Jean-Marie Le Pen over his anti-Semitism.

The magazine said her prediction of winning power within a decade are “a nightmarish prospect for millions” but “no longer seems preposterous.”


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