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PARIS (AP) — Former France great Zinedine Zidane says people should do anything they can to avoid having Marine Le Pen win the presidency.
Referring to Le Pen's far-right party, the Real Madrid coach says he is "far from all these ideas, from this National Front. So we need to do everything to avoid this."
Zidane, who was born in Marseille and comes from Algerian descent, took a similar stance when Jean-Marie Le Pen — Marine's father — made it to the second round of the 2002 presidential election.
A former World Cup and European Championship winner, Zidane remains highly popular in France. He says the message "is the same, the one from 2002."
Le Pen faces centrist Emmanuel Macron in the presidential runoff on May 7.
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