Little-known stories about two French presidential candidates

At the age of 8, Marine Le Pen witnessed a bomb explode right in front of her house, a scene that haunts her to this day. Meanwhile, former Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron is said to have been very bad at Math and Statistics.

Mr. Emmanuel Macron in a photo with his pet dog named Figaro.

Marine Le Pen witnessed a bomb explode in front of her house.

As the daughter of a politician, Marine Le Pen said she has witnessed and experienced many dangerous situations.

At the age of 8, a bomb exploded right in front of the Le Pen family's apartment in Paris (France). Seeing the horrific scene with her own eyes, Marine Le Pen was haunted for a long time. This incident is said to have shaped the personality of the French presidential candidate.

Marine Le Pen (middle) in her youth. Photo: AFP

The relationship between Ms. Marine Le Pen and her father - Mr. Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the National Front (FN) party is also said to be not very smooth.

In fact, Ms. Marine was not the person that Mr. Jean-Marie aimed at for the leadership of the FN party. Instead, the person Mr. Jean-Marie chose to take over the FN party was Ms. Marie-Caroline Le Pen – Marine Le Pen's sister.

“He sent Marie-Caroline to study at Oxford (UK). She speaks English and is the most educated of Jean-Marie’s children,” said Ms. Jany Le Pen – Mr. Jean-Marie’s second wife.

Despite her father's favor, Marie-Caroline clashed with him over her lifestyle and political views. Jean-Marie later switched his preference to Marine Le Pen.

In 2015, Ms. Le Pen expelled her father from the party for regularly making xenophobic and anti-Semitic statements.

Ms. Marine and her father, Mr. Jean-Marie, had a difficult relationship. Photo: Getty Image

Before becoming leader of the FN party, Ms. Marine was a lawyer and spent 6 years defending illegal immigrants facing deportation. This is completely contrary to the restrictive immigration stance that Ms. Marine always affirmed during the presidential election.

Emmanuel Macron is bad at Maths and Statistics

Few people know that before becoming a politician, Emmanuel Macron had a burning passion for acting.

He took film classes in high school and even auditioned for some movies but was not accepted.

According to his classmates, the former French Minister of Economy was very bad at Mathematics and Statistics. He was especially fond of Literature, wrote poetry and published a book but never published it.

Mr. Macron in a photo from his youth.

Mr. Macron's current wife, Brigitte Trogneux, is a very individualistic woman with blonde hair and a warm smile.

Ms. Trogneux is 24 years older than Mr. Macron. They met when Mr. Macron was 15 years old, a student at Henri IV high school. Ms. Trogneux was his drama and French literature teacher at the time. Notably, when she met Macron, Ms. Trogneux was already married and had 3 children.

Mr Macron (left) takes part in a high school play directed by Ms Trogneux (right).

Macron's feelings for his teacher grew. At the age of 18, Macron confessed his love to his parents, but was strongly opposed. His parents even forced Macron to transfer to another school in Paris to stop their love.

However, distance could not keep two hearts in love apart. Macron and Trogneux continued to secretly correspond. When Macron was 18, Mrs. Trogneux divorced her husband and moved to Paris with Macron. In 2007, they officially married.

Currently, Mr. Macron is called stepfather by Ms. Trogneux's three children and grandfather to her seven grandchildren.

Mrs. Trogneux's eldest son, Sebastien, was born in 1975, two years older than Mr. Macron. Mrs. Trogneux's second son, Laurence, is the same age as Mr. Macron and was once his classmate.

Mrs. Trogneux's youngest daughter - Tiphaine Auziere is actively supporting her stepfather's election campaign. Tiphaine Auziere once gave her stepfather compliments, saying that Mr. Macron is a person with a great personality and is very intelligent.

The Trogneux family is a famous chocolate company in France. One of the most famous products of this company has a name quite similar to Mr. Macron, which is “Macrons d'Amiens”.

According to TPO