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Post by Admin on Apr 22, 2022 18:49:36 GMT
French elections: Macron ahead of Le Pen in polls 49 views Apr 23, 2022 France has seen the final day of campaigning in an election that seems to be edging in Emmanuel Macron's favour - if the polls are correct.
President Macron went south to the Lot region telling voters that Sunday was a referendum on who we are. His main tactic has been to fuel fears of his far-right rival and what her election would say about the state of France.
Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen was in the poor Calais region telling voters who she thinks President Macron really is - a candidate of the rich for the rich.
We visited the town of Melun where the yellow vest protest movement started four years ago.
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Post by Admin on Apr 22, 2022 20:33:56 GMT
U.S. officials are anxiously watching the French presidential election, aware that the outcome of the vote on Sunday could scramble President Joe Biden’s relations with Europe and reveal dangerous fissures in Western democracy. President Emmanuel Macron of France has been a crucial partner as Biden has rebuilt relations with Europe, promoted democracy and forged a coalition in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But Macron is in a tight contest with Marine Le Pen, a far-right challenger. Le Pen is a populist agitator who, in the style of former President Donald Trump, scorns European Union “globalists,” criticizes NATO and views President Vladimir Putin of Russia as an ally. Her victory could complicate Biden’s effort to isolate Russia and aid Ukraine. But the very real prospect of a nationalist leading France is also a reminder that the recent period of U.S.-European solidarity on political and security issues like Russia and democracy may be deceptively fragile. Poland and Hungary, both NATO members, have taken authoritarian turns. And Germany’s surprisingly strong response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is already drawing domestic criticism. “To have a right-wing government come to power in France would be a political earthquake,” said Charles A. Kupchan, a professor at Georgetown who was the Europe director of the National Security Council during the Obama administration. “It would send a troubling signal about the overall political health of the Western world.” He added: “This is a moment of quite remarkable European unity and resolve. But Le Pen’s election would certainly raise profound questions about the European project.” Macron was unable to command more than a small plurality of support against several opponents in the first round of voting on April 10. Le Pen, who finished second, is his opponent in the runoff election Sunday. Polls show Macron with a clear lead, but analysts say a Le Pen victory is completely plausible.
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Post by Admin on Apr 22, 2022 23:30:27 GMT
Far right Marine Le Pen challenges French President Macron in election showdown 1,034 views Apr 23, 2022 French voters go to the polls Sunday for a second and final vote between incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and far right challenger Marine Le Pen. Le Pen, who has run a Trump-style campaign targeting immigration has been labeled by Macron as a radical. Meanwhile Le Pen charges that Macron is anti-France. Malcolm Brabant reports.
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Post by Admin on Apr 23, 2022 17:25:02 GMT
Macron and Le Pen clash in French presidential election debate - BBC News 77,452 views Apr 22, 2022 The two candidates for the French presidency have gone head to head in their only televised debate, ahead of Sunday's second-round run-off vote.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has fallen behind centrist Emmanuel Macron in the opinion polls but millions of voters are still undecided.
The candidates confronted each other on the cost of living, Russia, climate change and immigration.
Around 15.6 million viewers watched the debate, in which Mr Macron accused his rival of being dependent on Russian power, while Marine Le Pen called him a hypocrite on climate change.
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Post by Admin on Apr 24, 2022 1:38:48 GMT
French President Emmanuel Macron is in the pole position to win reelection Sunday in the country’s presidential runoff, yet his lead over far-right rival Marine Le Pen depends on one major uncertainty: voters who could decide to stay home. A Macron victory in this vote — which could have far-reaching repercussions for Europe’s future direction and Western efforts to stop the war in Ukraine — would make him the first French president in 20 years to win a second term. All opinion polls in recent days converge toward a win for the 44-year-old pro-European centrist — yet the margin over his nationalist rival varies broadly, from 6 to 15 percentage points, depending on the poll. Polls also forecast a possibly record-high number of people who will either cast a blank vote or not vote at all. Overseas French territories allowed voters to start casting ballots Saturday in polling stations that ranged from near the Caribbean shore in the Antilles to the savannahs of French Guiana on the South American coast. France’s April 10 first-round vote eliminated 10 other presidential candidates, and who becomes the country’s next leader — Macron or Le Pen — will largely depend on what supporters of those losing candidates do on Sunday. The question is a hard one, especially for leftist voters who dislike Macron but don’t want to see Le Pen in power either. Macron issued multiple appeals to leftist voters in recent days in hopes of securing their support. “Think about what British citizens were saying a few hours before Brexit or (people) in the United States before Trump’s election happened: ‘I’m not going, what’s the point?’ I can tell you that they regretted it the next day,” Macron warned this week on France 5 television. “So if you want to avoid the unthinkable ... choose for yourself!” he urged hesitant French voters. The two rivals were combative in the final days before Sunday’s election, clashing Wednesday in a one-on-one televised debate. No campaigning is allowed through the weekend, and polling is banned. Macron argued that the loan Le Pen’s far-right party received in 2014 from a Czech-Russian bank made her unsuitable to deal with Moscow amid its invasion of Ukraine. He also said her plans to ban Muslim women in France from wearing headscarves in public would trigger “civil war” in the country that has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe.
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