French police demand end for 24-hour protection of Marine Le Pen

Police who have been guarding the home of French National Front leader Marine Le Pen have called for the protection to end as a result of what they call "unacceptable conditions"

The police trade union, Alliance, denounced the working conditions of officers who have been stationed around the clock at the Le Pen residence for the past 18 months.

Even when the far-right politician isn't at home, the security remains tight.

"The work is carried out in unacceptable conditions. The police guard the house sometimes for eight hours straight without a break, without being able to go to the toilet, in a vehicle without air conditioning," the union said.

"Last week, when temperatures in the car reached 45C, it was necessary to step in to get them an air-conditioned vehicle," the representative from the union, Julien Le Cam, told Le Parisien.

Police officials added that access to the road in the western Paris district of Yvelines remains closed and that the constant surveillance is straining resources, as well as preventing the possibility of reforming working hours.

Officials in Yvelines have written to the interior ministry to call for help on the matter.

Security peaked during the presidential campaign in May when Emmanuel Macron managed to see off Le Pen.

In 1976, when Le Pen was a child, a bomb attack destroyed her family home, which was targeting her father, then FN leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen.