Le Pen steps down as FN president to gather "all the French"

Opinion pollsters predicted Macron to comfortably defeat her by at least 60 percent.

To defy projection, Le Pen said "We can win. We will win. Things have changed a lot. The movement I lead has been at the top of all the last election."

She said contacts with the center-right are in progress in an attempt to seek a possible alliance.

Le Pen was the only FN candidate to pass the first round of 2007 legislative elections and garnered 42 percent of votes in the second round.

In 2014, the party reported big gains in the EU ballots after collecting 24.85 percent of the votes and snatched 24 seats in the European Parliament.

Upon her election, Le Pen pledged a referendum on a proposal to reserve certain rights, such as free education, which is now available to all residents, to French citizens only.

She also pledged to impose an extra tax on companies which hire foreigners and make it harder for illegal migrants to legalize their situation.