Round 2 of the French election: The race to attract leftist voters

Mrs. Le Pen’s correction

This week, France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen approached left-wing voters in an attempt to defeat President Emmanuel Macron. During a major campaign event in the southern French city of Avignon, with some 4,000 supporters, Ms Le Pen called on France not to give Mr Macron a new five-year term to prevent “social devastation and devastation”. national restructuring” as well as ending the leadership of those in the interests of the minority.

According to Reuters, opinion polls show that Le Pen, a candidate in two previous French presidential elections, has succeeded in softening the image. She did not change the core of the anti-immigration far-right platform, but did not focus on that, unlike previous campaigns. Meanwhile, AFP reports, critics say Le Pen’s changes are only in style, with mainstream hardline policies still in place.

According to the Washington Post, Marine Le Pen, one of Europe’s most famous far-right leaders, known for her anti-globalism and immigration views, has tested the limits of her strategy to express herself. present himself as a more moderate politician and garner wider support. For example, speaking in Avignon, Ms. Le Pen pledged to transform France into a global “peaceful power”, calling for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for India and an African country. .

Emmanuel Rivière, international polling director at Kantar Public, a data analytics company, said left-wing voters in Avignon and across France hold “the keys to the second round”. , the opportunity to attract significant support from the left shows how far Ms Le Pen has come compared to when she participated in the most recent presidential election five years ago. In the first part of the election, far-left candidate Jean Luc Mélenchon won support in Avignon, with 37% of the vote. Mr. Macron came in second with 20% but far-right total votes, divided by Le Pen. and candidate Éric Zemmour is higher with 27%.

On the campaign trail, Ms. Le Pen is following some of the same radical content as five years ago and on some issues seems even more extreme. But unlike 2017, her language is softer, emphasizing economic problems caused by concerns about radical Islam, while also noting her desire to change the French political system from within. While Le Pen five years ago called for a drastic reduction in immigration to France, she now wants to hold an immigration referendum, making the proposal less vulnerable to a wave of legal challenges. . She also stopped talking about abandoning the euro or leaving the European Union. But she still wants to end the EU’s preeminence by writing to give preferential treatment to French citizens looking for work, even though EU law requires all citizens of the bloc to be treated equally.

Support for Mr Macron

Le Pen’s speech in Avignon came after President Macron received the support of his predecessor, Francois Hollande. Mr. Hollande called on the French to support a second term for the incumbent president because Le Pen “is placing our principles in uncertainty”. On TV channel TF1, former French President Francois Hollande called on France to vote for Mr Macron “for France’s cohesion” and its “European future”. Earlier this week, Mr Macron also won the support of former right-wing President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Mr. Macron held a big campaign event on April 16 in the southern city of Marseille. On April 14, the current French president visited the northern port city of Le Havre. “I will try to convince all the voters,” Macron said.

The most recent polls show close competition between Mr Macron and Ms Le Pen for the April 24 vote, although there are signs the president is leading by a slight margin. An Opinonway poll on April 13 showed Macron with 53% and Le Pen over 47%. However, such a margin is too close for Macron’s supporters to feel secure.

The Washington Post warned that nationally, Mr. Macron was still the leader, but the incumbent French leader’s lead had dropped by about 6 points, much narrower than in the weeks before the election victory. President of France 2017. His campaign focuses on efforts to liberalize the economy, including a plan to raise the retirement age. France’s strong post-pandemic economic recovery has boosted voter support for the incumbent leader. Now, he must convince voters that he is not only the president of the rich and can unify a divided France, but that he can be trusted with immigration.

A key moment in the final phase of the 2022 French presidential election campaign, according to AFP, is April 20, when the two candidates have a live debate broadcast on French television.