Up to one million attend anti-Le Pen rallies in France

As many as one million people have attended peaceful demonstrations throughout France to protest against the policies of far-right presidential candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Around 250,000 of the protestors descended on Paris and more are expected to join them throughout the afternoon.

The rallies came after Mr Le Pen addressed a smaller gathering of his supporters in Paris to honour his party’s heroine, Joan of Arc.

In his speech, the anti-immigrant leader of the National Front promised an "electoral earthquake" in Sunday’s presidential run-off against incumbent President Jacques Chirac.

"The ground is going to crumble under their feet," he said.