Two Women Join Race to Become France's 1st Female President

PARIS - Two French politicians kicked off their presidential campaigns Sunday, seeking to become France's first female leader in next year's spring election.

The far-right National Rally party's Marine Le Pen and Paris' Socialist mayor, Anne Hidalgo, both launched their presidential platforms in widely expected moves.   They join a burgeoning list of challengers to centrist President Emmanuel Macron. This includes battles among multiple potential candidates on the right — including another female politician, Valerie Pecresse — and among the Greens. Hidalgo, 62, mayor of the French capital since 2014, is the favorite to win the Socialist Party nomination. She launched her candidacy in the northwestern city of Rouen.