France's Le Pen loses ground in poll after state employee comments

FILE PHOTO - Marine Le Pen, France's National Front political party head, is seen attending a joint news conference at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, June 16, 2015. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File photo

PARIS (Reuters) - An apparent threat by far-right leader Marine le Pen to punish state employees who "persecute" political opponents may have eroded her support, according to a poll which found her first-round lead in France's presidential election slipping.

The poll of voting intentions by research firm BVA found Le Pen garnering 26 percent of the votes in April's first round, down 1.5 percent from the last BVA poll on Feb. 23.