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		</div><p>French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is standing trial over comments she made five years ago comparing Muslim street prayers to a foreign occupation.</p>
<p>Le Pen, whose National Front party is known for its anti-immigration and anti-Islam views, arrived in court to stand trial on charges of inciting racial hatred in Lyon, where she will face four anti-racism and human rights organisations.</p>
<p>&#8220;I have the right, as a political leader, to evoke a crucial issue and it&#8217;s even a duty for me to do it&#8221;, Le Pen told reporters.</p>
<p>Her popularity on the rise in France, Le Pen faces up to a year in prison and a fine of €45,000. The court&#8217;s ruling is expected to be set to a later date.</p>
<p>Despite the potential jail term, political experts say she could emerge from the trial even stronger among many National Front voters.</p>
<p>Le Pen&#8217;s comments referred to Muslims praying on the street outside mosques when they are full.</p>
<p>&#8220;That actually is the occupation of territory,&#8221; she told a crowd of sympathisers in Lyon in 2010.</p>
<p>In France, &#8220;occupation&#8221; is the generic term used to refer to the period of administration by the Nazis of French territory.</p>
<p>In July 2013, Le Pen was stripped of her European Parliament immunity over the comments.</p>
<p>Le Pen scores high in all popularity polls before regional elections in December. She is hoping to win votes in the context of Europe&#8217;s migrant crisis &#8211; what she calls a &#8220;migratory submersion&#8221;.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think that acting as a victim as she does is going to be more useful than bad (to her image),&#8221; historian Jean Garrigues said. &#8220;We can see that this theme of an invasion that could be related to an occupation, it works. It does have a political efficiency.&#8221;</p>
<p>Political analyst Thomas Guenole said Le Pen&#8217;s trial would not be problematic to the majority of National Front voters who share far right or very conservative views.</p>
<p>But Le Pen has been trying in recent years to increase her electorate with people from the left, based on the argument of an opposition to Europe&#8217;s economic policy.</p>
<p>&#8220;To them, her comments are a big problem &#8230; because they are resolutely anti-racist and hostile to any kind of hatred speech,&#8221; Mr Guenole said.</p>
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