French elections In the Provencal sun, voters are happy but not sure: “Discussions will focus on Ukraine and Korona and forget the most important thing”

Opio-Grasse-Cannes

In a small living in the southern French village of Opio Stephanie Duborper39, and Simon Marcos, 40, are both working for a large French company called Thales. Thales manufactures information systems for the defense and aerospace industries, among others. There is a lot of work now.

France has its first round of presidential elections on Sunday, February 10, but Duborper admits there hasn’t really been time to monitor the election setup. The official campaign began on March 28th and will continue through Friday, April 8th.

The sitting president Emmanuel Macronin Duborper had a fragile perception of the contenders for a long time.

“I had heard the right speaker speak Eric from Zemmourbut did not follow the election news, ”says Duborper.

“It wasn’t until the political debates began to spin on television that I realized there was no one other than Macron who could represent France as well.”

News now report that Emmanuel Macron clearly leads opinion polls, although support figures are declining, according to the latest polls. National Alliance Marine Le Pen make up the difference.

France Infon to commission 26 per cent of respondents plan to vote for Macron and 21 per cent for Le Pen. The difference with the third, the left Jean-Luc to Mélenchon, is high: 15.5% of respondents say they will vote. The right-wing polemic Zemmour received 11 percent support in the poll.

Rising support figures for Le Pen are explained for many reasons. The candidate has focused vigorously on the French purchasing power and avoided thwarting his connections with Russia.

Unlike Zemmour, Le Pen has also advocated the reception of Ukrainian refugees, and this has made him appear to Zemmour as a more moderate candidate for the right.

Macron’s credibility has been eroded in recent meters by a debate in France about how the government is leveraging the expensive services of the international consulting firm McKinsey to support its decision-making. According to the expert, it may affect some groups of voters.

“There are more than five million civil servants in France who know how they feel when they are not trusted, but are asked by outsiders to increase the pressure,” says Ludovic Renardpolitical scientist at the University of Sciences in Bordeaux.

Back To the village of Opio, 20 km from Cannes. Stephanie Duborper and Simon Marcos moved to the southern sun from Lille in northern France four years ago with their two primary school sons and Stephanie’s parents.

Grandparents live downstairs, in their own separate apartment – they can help with childcare and gardening. During the interview, Grandpa Kyyry’s back can be seen rustling in the yard.

“This arrangement works great,” Marcos praises.

He is equally pleased with Macron. Appreciation has been boosted by the president’s efforts to find solutions to Ukraine’s war. Stephanie Duborper also lists other pluses: unlike previous presidents, Macron has survived his term without major scandals. There has been no need to read about women friends in the magazines.

Simon Marcos sees Macron’s chances in the presidential election even so overwhelming that he plans to vote in the first round for the Greens. Yannick Jadot’a and only with another Macron.

“Discussions will focus only on Ukraine and the coronavirus and forget the most important thing: global warming. I would like Jadot to get at least 10-15 percent of the vote in the first round. That way, Macron would be forced to add greenness to his program, and maybe even take Jadot as his environment or prime minister, ”Marcos ponders.

Jadot received 6% support in France Info’s survey.

Poll according to the turnout, it threatens to remain low in the first round, to only 70 percent from 78 in 2017.

One reason for the lazy vote may be the election result, which already seems too clear.

On the other hand, just over 30% of those going to the polls are not yet sure who to vote for.

“If the turnout in the first round is 70, I’m actually relieved because, for example, turnout in the regional and European elections was so low,” says researcher Ludovic Renard.

Short ten kilometers from Opio is the village of Grasse, home to the Franco-Finnish Kiskola-Nguyie family.

There is a queue of cars in their yard. David Nguyen, 52, is a recent conglomerate: for example, she rents cars to Riviera summer residents and takes tourists on boat trips. Until a few years ago, he was a full-time car dealer.

“From the beginning of June to the end of September, I do a seven-day week, but it’s a nice job,” Nguyen says.

For Nguyen, the voting decision was easy: Macron feels he is the only option to consider. The incumbent president has survived a period colored by the yellow vest, the corona and the war in Ukraine.

“The pandemic in France has been handled quite well. The country is indeed very indebted because the government distributed grants to the citizens, but we survived. There are always people who are not happy, but I think we got easier than our neighbors Spain and Italy. ”

Nguyen’s Finnish wife listens intently as her husband talks about the election. Lived in the country for more than twenty years Riikka Kiskola-Nguyen has not applied for French nationality and may not be put to the vote.

“But I always try to make an impact in the background,” he says and laughs.

Nguyen is not himself a native Frenchman either. He moved to the country at the age of five from war-torn Laos, a bit like the Ukrainians now, he says.

“There are a lot of good things in France and I have not experienced racism myself. Of course, there are those everywhere who take advantage of the system, and that is exactly what the far right wants to raise in their speeches, ”he says.

The political speeches by Macron’s opponents sound in Nguyen’s ears mostly from a host of utopian promises.

“I always tell my children and wife that once the country has received us, we must also do our part to adapt.”

Researcher however, according to recent polls, it is the protest voters who are clearly starting to stand out, ie people who intend to vote for Mélenchon or Le Pen, for example, only to express their views against the incumbent president.

“These voices have so far been invisible because of the interest rate crisis and the war in Ukraine. But the closer the election gets, the more voters start to think about the past five years and what Macron promises in its program for the future, ”Renard says.

“We haven’t had a real political debate at all either. Macron, who has positioned himself in the middle, is crushing the match. ”

Cannes Florence32, says he’s happy with Macron’s season and plans to vote for him again now.

Florence’s family, who works in the marketing industry, consists of a wife and a dog. Florence talks about her private matters with caution, and for example, does not want her last name in public. On a personal level, as a representative of the sexual minority, she says she welcomes a law that came into force last year that allows women and women who have children alone to have access to fertility treatments.

“It’s a real step forward. Macron kept its commitment, which is important, ”says Florence.

He also thinks Macron is “the only real European” among the candidates, which is important for the country’s future.

“France alone is a small country when compared to the world’s great powers like the United States and China. Crises show that when we work together, we are also able to make a difference more quickly, ”he says. For example, he is raising EU joint procurement of vaccines.

Although readings show Florence’s candidate as a pre-favorite, he doesn’t see the result packaged.

The mind is still on the 2002 presidential election and that’s when the National Front Jean-Marie Le Pen surprised by getting into the second round, leaving behind the Socialists Lionel Jospinin.

“The biggest concern is that voters will stay home. People now need to be mobilized in large numbers. ”