In a climate of uncertainty, its citizens will go to the polls France for the first round of the presidential election, with the data so far predicting one extremely ambiguous match between Emmanuel Macron and Marin Le Pen.
According to the latest polls, this pair will oppose in the second round, despite the attempt of the candidate of the radical left, Jean-Luc Melanson, to break this dipole, with the outgoing president marginally ahead.
According to political analyst Pascal Perino, “These are the first elections in which there is such a percentage of people who are undecided, who have changed their minds – almost one in two French people”.
After the war in Ukraine, the election campaign in France has regained interest in recent days. If Marin Le Pen wins, she will become the first woman and the first candidate of the extreme right to run for president.
The daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, a figure of the French far right for decades, managed to smooth over her party image by conducting a convincing campaign for purchasing power, which is the first priority of the population at a time when inflation is rising, boosted by war in Ukraine.
The first results are expected at 20:00 local time (21:00 Greek time) on Sunday, while the polling stations open at 08:00 local time (09:00 Greek time).
The five “gladiators”
Who are and what do the five main contenders for the presidency of the French Republic want?
Emanuel Macron
Emanuel Macron is 44 years old, a graduate of the French School of Public Administration, Inspector of Public Finance and was a friend of the Socialist politician Jean-Pierre Sevenemann. Under Sarkozy, he co-authored a report on “growth liberalization” and later left the public sector and was an investment adviser at Rothschild & Co.
In 2012 he became Deputy Secretary General of Socialist President François Hollande and in 2014 he was appointed Minister of Economy. He then founded his own movement, the “En Marche!” and was elected President of the Republic in 2017.
Suggests:
-Increasing the legal retirement age to 65
-Increase of teachers’ salaries,
-Increase the purchasing power bonus up to 6,000 euros
– Establishment of proportional representation for the parliamentary elections
Stricter access to residence permits
Inheritance tax reductions
Construction of new nuclear power plants
Abolition of the audiovisual media license fee
Marin Lepen
Marin Le Pen is 53 years old and after a short legal career she joined the legal department of Jean-Marie Le Pen’s father, the National Front. She then began her political rise in the shadows, until she took over the reins of the party in early 2011.
In 2012 she came third in the first round with 17.9% of the vote but managed to qualify for the second round in 2017, with 21.3% of the vote. In the second round he received 33.9%.
He suggests:
-Organizing a referendum on immigration
-Reduction of VAT on energy products from 20% to 5.5%
Exemption of persons under 30 years of age from income tax or corporate tax
-Renationalization of highways and privatization of public service broadcasting
-Introduction of the citizens’ initiative referendum
Establishment of proportional representation in the parliamentary elections
– A € 20 billion health emergency plan
Jean-Luc Melanson
Melanson is 70 years old, he was a teacher and then a journalist. He has been in politics since the late 1970s when he joined the Socialist Party, which he left in 2008 to form the left-wing “Parti de gauche” and then France Insoumise in 2016.
A candidate for the 2012 presidential election, he finished in fourth place with 11% of the vote. In 2017 he finished fourth again, but won 19.6% of the vote. He assures that 2022 is his last campaign.
Suggests:
-A Constituent Assembly for the establishment of the Sixth Republic
-Sixth week paid leave
-Returning retirement to the age of 60
-Increase of the minimum wage to 1,400 euros net.
-Price ceiling on basic necessities, gas and electricity
-Investment of 200 billion euros for the ecological transition
-Return on property tax and increase income tax
Valeri Pekres
The center-right Valerie Pécres is a 54-year-old graduate of the School of Public Administration, a senior civil servant, and began her political career as an adviser to Jacques Chirac in 1998. She became a caretaker minister to Nicolas Sarkozy de-France) in 2015. It is her first participation in the presidential elections.
Suggests:
-Increasing the legal retirement age to 65
-Increase of small salaries by 10%
Inheritance tax exemption up to 200,000 euros
Abolition of 200,000 civil servants, but creation of 50,000 in priority areas (such as health)
To build six new nuclear reactors.
Eric Zemour
Eric Zemour, 63, has been a journalist with the Figaro newspaper since 1996, but has been known for his television and radio appearances since the 2000s. The first leaf “(2006).
This is his first presidential campaign.
Suggests:
-Referendum on immigration,
-To make the European Union “Europe of nations”
-Reduction of production taxes and employee contributions,
-Strengthening the nuclear program
-A “sign of homeland” for the origin of the products
-Increasing the retirement age to 64 and increasing small pensions,
-Prohibition of the “headscarf” in public.
Source: News Beast
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
