The Union looks set to attract controversy once again for its choice of guests this term, as Marine Le Pen, MEP and leader of the French Front National is announced as a last-minute speaker. The presidential candidate for the last election is set to appear at the Union next Tuesday afternoon. Editor of The Guardian Alan Rusbridger has also been invited to speak. 

Le Pen finished third in the 2012 French presidential election with almost 18% of the popular vote. She recently appeared in Time magazine’s list of the world’s most influential people. The politician will address Cambridge Union members on French politics, together with the future of the European Union.

On Le Pen’s visit, a spokesman for the Cambridge Union Society said: “We welcome the opportunity to discuss, debate and challenge Mme. Le Pen, who has had an unquestionable impact on French and European politics. Whether you agree with her politics or not, this event represents one of the very few opportunities a British audience has had to directly engage with Mme. Le Pen…"

In a suggestion that the Union may face criticism from students unhappy at the controversial speaker’s invitation, the spokesman adds that "The Cambridge Union has a two-hundred year history of promoting the art of debating and free speech and this event is fundamentally in keeping with that tradition.”

Editor of The Guardian newspaper Alan Rusbridger was the second speaker announced today. A graduate of Magdalene College, where he read English, his career at The Guardian has spanned nearly thirty five years, attaining the editorship in 1995. He will speak on the future of the press, having appeared before the Leveson Inquiry in 2011 to advocate self-regulation by the press in the light of revelations of phone hacking by the press. His talk is scheduled for 12th March.

A Union spokesman said of Rusbridger that he looks set to offer “a unique insight into the future of the press in our country…”. They added “He comes to speak at a time when the newspaper industry is facing an increasingly challenging future, with the rise of the internet and the blogosphere impacting on the circulation of newspapers. We look forward to hearing his perspective on the future of the press here in the United Kingdom and around the world.”