Four days before elections in France
Le Pen is hot on Macron’s heels
4/5/2022 9:47 p.m
The French presidential election campaign will get exciting shortly before the first round on Sunday. In the polls, right-wing populist Le Pen is catching up with incumbent Macron. Another candidate even sees himself in the runoff.
Four days before the presidential election in France, the gap between incumbent Emmanuel Macron and right-wing populist Marine Le Pen is narrowing considerably. In a survey published by Kantar-Epoka, both candidates are currently only two percentage points apart in the first round – about as much as the margin of error can be. Macron lost four points in two weeks after the poll and now has 25 percent.
Le Pen, on the other hand, gained three points and now has 23 percent. The left-wing populist Jean-Luc Mélenchon also gained two points and is now at 16 percent. In the back of the field, the right-wing extremist Eric Zemmour is stable at 11 percent, the right-wing conservative candidate Valérie Pécresse has lost two points and is now at 8 percent.
Mélenchon already sees himself in the runoff. “There is a very high probability that I can do it,” he told Radio Sud. “Macron-Le Pen will not exist,” the left-wing populist said with conviction.
30 percent of voters still undecided
It still seems unlikely that Le Pen will actually win the presidential election. In recent elections, the right-wing populist party’s candidates have often fared worse than before in the polls. In addition, about 30 percent of voters are still undecided.
However, it no longer seems impossible that the curves will cross before the first lap on Sunday and that Le Pen could be in front. The result of the run-off election depends on the recommendations made by the other candidates. In principle, Macron can hope for votes from the left camp. However, there are also voters for left-wing populist Mélenchon who would rather vote for Le Pen than Macron, because for many the traditional left and right camps are outdated.