French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen has secured the signatures of 500 elected officials required to run in next month's French presidential elections.
Le Pen, who stunned France five years ago by beating the Socialist Lionel Jospin into third place, has waged a noisy campaign for signatures in recent months, accusing rivals of trying to freeze him out of the poll.
"There was a deliberate, organised attempt at sabotage. It was very worrying," the National Front leader said as he arrived at the Constitutional Council to hand over his electoral registration papers.
"It was harder than in 2002."
The Constitutional Council vets French laws and validates elections. The deadline for registrations is Friday evening.
Philippe de Villiers, leader of the far-right Movement For France, said he too had garnered the requisite number of sponsors to allow him to contest the April 22 first round.
Under French electoral law, candidates need the backing of at least 500 of France's 42,000 elected representatives, including parliamentarians and mayors, to contest the ballot.
Despite polling 16.8 percent in 2002, a score that saw him through to a run-off ballot won by incumbent Jacques Chirac, Le Pen 's National Front has no mayors, and party workers have been forced to criss-cross France in the hunt for signatures.