French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen (National Regroupment) has said she will resolve the country’s divisions if elected president. The French went to the polls this Sunday (10). According to the initial projections of research institutes, Le Pen should contest a second round against Emmanuel Macron.
“I intend without waiting to sew the tears that a torn France suffers and that power has now been able to do,” Le Pen told supporters.
According to the Ifop Institute, Macron would have had 28.6% of the votes and Marine Le Pen 24.4%. Preliminary projections by the Ipsos Institute indicate 28.1% for Macron and 23.3% for Le Pen. The far-left candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon would have been in third place.
The second round is expected to be close: Macron leading with around 51% of the vote and Le Pen with 49%.
So far, four of the candidates who contested the first round, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Anna Hidalgo, Valerie Pecresse and Yannick Jadotdeclared opposition to Le Pen in this likely second round.
“We know who we will never vote for… You must not support Le Pen… There must not be a single vote for Le Pen in the second round,” Mélenchon said in a speech to his supporters. The French far-left candidate would have been in third place, according to initial information from research centers.
Hidalgo also declared that he was against the victory of the representative of the National Regroupment. “So that France does not fall into the hatred of everyone against everyone, I solemnly ask you to vote on April 24 against the extreme right of Marine Le Pen.”
Pecresse, who is part of the French conservative wing, even cited Le Pen’s relationship with the Russian president to justify his support for Macron. “The historical closeness (of far-right Marine Le Pen) with Vladimir Putin discredits her in defending the interests of our country in these tragic times. Election of her would mean that France would become irrelevant on the European and international stage.”
The far-right candidate, Eric Zemmour, supported Le Pen for the second round against Emmanuel Macron. Speaking to supporters, Zemmour acknowledged differences with the candidate, but said he had “no doubts about who the opponent is. That’s why I ask my supporters to vote for Marine Le Pen.”
*With information from Reuters
Source: CNN Brasil
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