Le Pen makes Time top 100 power list

MARINE Le Pen has attended a gala dinner in New York after being named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.

The Front National leader, whose party has suffered in recent weeks from a family feud between Le Pen and her father Jean-Marie, said the award was recognition of "a political movement that is on the rise".

She was the only French political figure to make the list, which also features US president Barack Obama, Russia's Vladimir Putin and Raul Castro of Cuba, as well as German chancellor Angela Merkel, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Le Pen said: "It shows that the Front National is considered a serious party on the other side of the Atlantic - a party that could govern France, and that there could be some big changes in France in the coming months.

"I am proud of my country and proud that millions of French people are making a different choice."

Other names making the Time 100 list include Pope Francis, Apple boss Tim Cook and the French economist Thomas Piketty.