French president Emmanuel Macron has long had a comfortable lead in polls, but in the final days before Sunday’s (10 April) first-round of the election, far-right contender Marine Le Pen is closing in.
Her friendly ties to Russia don’t seem to bother French voters but her win would have profound implications for France and Europe.
“Marine Le Pen could definitely be elected president of France”, the director of pollster Ifop in Paris, Jérôme Fourquet, told EUobserver.
A few weeks ago, Macron looked like a sure bet.
In the run-up to the vote, holding his first-and-only election rally last weekend, Macron urged caution, however, warning not to trust in forecasts which said it was impossible for him to lose.
“Just look at Brexit and so many other elections where a result seemed totally unlikely but then still happened,” the French president said.
And by the time the elections came around, Le Pen looked like a real threat — some polls going into the weekend now place her within the margin of error of winning the second round.
