Far Right's EU Election Campaign

France's far right hammered on its traditional theme of immigration and looked to surf on Europe's wave of farmers' protests at the launch of its campaign for  European Parliament elections in June.

Introduced by National Rally (RN) figurehead Marine Le Pen as the party rides high in the polls, lead candidate Jordan Bardella also walked a line between blasting Brussels and vowing to turn the European Union to the party's own ends.

"It is quite clear that these European elections on June 9 represent a referendum against being inundated with migrants," Bardella, 28, told a crowd in Marseille that he said was 8,000 strong.

He highlighted the fact that the RN has brought on board Fabrice Leggeri, former chief of EU border agency Frontex, to loud cheers from supporters waving French flags.

"He joined the National Rally because he refused to let himself be pushed around" by Brussels, Bardella said.

Like Le Pen, he also addressed multiple declarations of love to farmers, who last month paralyzed motorways and squeezed concessions out of Paris over issues like pay and environmental regulation before offering a hostile welcome to Macron at the capital's annual agricultural fair.

"The French farmers' battle isn't just a fight for a profession in particular, but for the entirety of a France that wants to preserve its identity, countryside,  gastronomy, traditions," including against top-down rules decided at the EU level, Bardella said.

The young lead candidate is one of France's most popular politicians and leads a party credited with 28-30 percent support in polls ahead of the June vote.

The June poll is seen as a key milestone ahead of France's next presidential election in 2027, when Le Pen is expected to mount a fourth bid for the top job and Macron cannot stand again due to term limits.