Daniel Cole
This was the result of a survey by the opinion research institute Ifop, which was published online on Thursday by the weekly newspaper “Le Journal du Dimanche”.
According to surveys, Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (formerly: Front National) party has a good chance of having one or two regional presidents for the first time after the elections on June 20 and 27. Le Pen is head of state Emmanuel Macron’s toughest opponent at national level. The regional elections are seen as a mood test before the presidential election in less than a year.
51 percent of those questioned answered in the negative as to whether the election successes of RNs in the regions represented a threat to democracy. 49 percent, however, saw this risk as a given.
The regional elections had been postponed from March to June due to the corona pandemic. Hundreds of regional councils are appointed in the mainland and overseas departments. In France, the regions have important competencies in public transport, economic development and education. Compared to the German federal states, however, the influence is limited.