France: Macron leads Le Pen in the first round, and both advance to the second round

LAST UPDATE: 23.57

THE Emanuel Macron occupies the first place in the current first round of presidential elections in France. According to the latest official figures, after counting about 38 million votes, Macron has 27.4% of the vote against 25.54% of the far right Marin Lepenas reported by Reuters.

Earlier, according to estimates by the French television station BFM, Macron received 28.5% of the vote against 24.2% of the far right Marin Lepen.

They followed with 20.2% Jean-Luc Melanson placed on the radical left, with 7.1% the far right Eric Zemour and with 5.1% the center-right Valeri Pekres. The rest of the candidates are moving below 5%.

In general, the result is considered relatively satisfactory for Macron, less satisfactory for Le Pen, extremely satisfactory for Melanson, negative for Eric Zemour and “catastrophic” for the once traditional parties of France, namely the Republicans, the Ecologists, the Socialists. and the Communists.

This means that the second round, which will take place on April 24will be held between the same two candidates as in the last presidential election of 2017. It should be noted that for two decades has not won a second term French president.

Earlier, according to estimates by French television station TF1 Emanuel Macron received 28.6% of the vote against 24.4% of Marin Le Pen. The third place is occupied by Jean-Luc Melanson with 20%.

Respectively, according to Antenne station 2 Macron received 28.1%, Lepen 23.3% and Melanson 20%.

According to estimates by the newspaper Le Monde Emanuel Macron had 28.1% of the vote, compared to 23.3% for Marin Le Pen. In third place is Jean-Luc Melanson with 20.1%.

Polls show Macron winning in the second round

The second round of the presidential elections in France is expected to be extremely ambiguous, according to a poll conducted by the television station TF1 today on a sample of 1,000 people, after the publication of the first results.

Specifically, it is estimated that Emanuel Macron will win with 51% against 49% of Marin Le Pen. This means that despite the persuasions of many candidates and political leaders in favor of voting for Macron, the voters of their parties largely do not follow them.

Meanwhile, according to an Ipsos poll, Macron is expected to garner 54% of the vote in the second round and Lepen 46%.

At the same time, according to an Opionionway poll, Macron will win 54% of the vote, compared to Le Pen’s 46% in the second round.

In 2017, when Macron also faced Le Pen in the second round, Macron won with 66.1% of the vote.

The turnout in the first round of the French presidential elections was 65% at 17.00 French time (18.00 Greek time), lower by 4.4 points compared to the 2017 elections (69.42%), according to data from the Ministry of Interior.

Turnout, on the other hand, was 6.5 points higher than in 2002 (58.45%), a record year for abstaining from a first round of presidential elections.

Macron last week sought to widen the gap with a series of last-minute media appearances, including one on Friday night, just hours before presidential candidates were required by law to end their campaign. In an interview with Brut Media, he discussed issues ranging from education and ecology to foreign affairs and religion, but focused more on economic inequalities and purchasing power, issues that belonged to Le Pen.

If Le Pen overthrows Macron in the second round, an ardent supporter of the European venture, it would be a shock to the European Union, possibly comparable to Donald Trump’s US election victory and the 2016 Brexit vote. bloc (s.s. the EU) vetoed most EU initiatives. Its victory would seal the rise of the far right in France, turning the country on a nationalist, “nativist” course.

In the end, enough voters can only come to block Le Pen, so that Macron can return to office. In this case, he could be left with a weak mandate that could make it difficult to implement his economic and social reforms, depending on the outcome of the parliamentary elections scheduled for June. Lepen, on the other hand, would probably emerge stronger.

THE Melanson called on his supporters not to vote for Le Pen

French left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Melanson has called on his supporters not to vote for far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the second round of the April 24 presidential election.

“We know who we will never vote for … you must not support Le Pen … there must not be a single vote in favor of Le Pen in the second round,” Melanson told supporters today.

Polling company Ifop estimates that Melanson will receive 20.8% of the vote in the first round.

Far-right candidate Eric Zemour will support Marin Le Pen

French far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemour will support his far-right colleague Marine Le Pen in the second round of elections against incumbent President Emanuel Macron on April 24.

Speaking to his supporters after he did not qualify for the second round, the former journalist said that he has differences with Le Pen but “I have no doubt who the opponent is. That is why I call on my supporters to vote for Marin Le Pen”.

Conservative Eric Siotti will not vote for Macron

French Conservative Eric Siotti said today he would not vote for President Macron in the second round of the April 24 presidential election.

“I will not give voting instructions to anyone … The French people are free to vote for whomever they want. What I can tell you tonight is that I will not vote for Emanuel Macron,” Siotti told his supporters.

The Conservative Republican candidate of his party, Valerie Pekres, did not advance to the second round.

Socialist candidate Ann Indalgo will support Macron

Socialist Paris mayor and presidential candidate Ann Indalgo, who did not run in the second round of the presidential election, will support French President Emanuel Macron in the second round.

“In order for France not to fall into the hatred of all against all, I officially call on you to vote on April 24 against the far right of Marine Le Pen,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters.

According to a preliminary estimate by the polling company IFOP, Indalgo is expected to receive 1.9% of the votes in the first round.

Valerie Pekres states that she will vote for Macron

Conservative French presidential candidate Valerie Pecres said on Sunday she would vote for Macron in the second round of the presidential election.

“Le Pen’s historic relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin devalues ​​her from defending our country’s interests in these tragic times. Her election would mean that France would lose its importance on the European and international stage. “Despite my strong disagreement with Macron, I will vote for him to stop Marin Lepen,” Pekres told supporters.

An Ifop estimate of the results of the first round showed that Pekres will not qualify for the second round, winning only 4.6% of the votes in the first round.

France Green nominee Yannick Zando backs Macron

The candidate of the Green Ecologists in France, Yannick Zando, stated on Sunday that he will support Macron in the second round.

“I urge the Greens to vote for the far right by giving their vote to Macron,” Zando told supporters.