Far-right challengers Le Pen, Zemmour, clear hurdle to run in French election

FILE PHOTO: Candidates for the 2022 French presidential election, French far-right commentator Eric Zemmour, leader of far-right party "Reconquete!", Marine Le Pen, leader of French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National) party, and Yannick Jadot, French Green party Europe Ecologie Les Verts (EELV) member, leave after a meeting with the French Prime Minister and French presidential candidates to discuss Ukraine crisis at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, France, February 28, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo

Far-right French presidential contenders Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour have both amassed enough endorsements from elected officials to run in April's election, beating a deadline by days, authorities said on Tuesday.

Le Pen and Zemmour are performing well in polls for the April 10 election, second and third respectively behind President Emmanuel Macron. The prospect that either could fail to gain the required 500 endorsements, or 'parrainages,' had led both to question the legitimacy of France's electoral process.