Ifop polling organizers expected a sharp convergence in the result of the run-off, with Macron receiving 51 percent to Le Pen’s 49 percent, knowing that in 2017, Macron received 66.1 percent of the vote.
The outgoing French President Macron is supposed to start his campaign for the second round of the presidential elections by visiting the northern Pas-de-Calais region, which was known by a wide vote against his rival Le Pen in the first round, before heading Tuesday to Strasbourg in the east.
Macron said that France and Europe are facing a decisive moment, adding that the French can count on him, and that he is extending his hands to everyone who wants to work for France, according to “Reuters”.
Most of the losing candidates expressed their intention to support Macron in the second round of the presidential elections, while only one, Eric Zemmour, stuck to Le Pen’s support.
On the other hand, the right-wing Republicans called on Valerie Pecres, the Green Party, Yannick Gaddo, the Communist Party Fabian Rosell and the Socialist Party Anne Hidalgo, to vote for Macron.
“France Proud” candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who came third with about 21 percent of the vote, also stressed the need to categorically withhold votes from Le Pen, but he did not call for a vote for Macron.
Like Melenchon, anti-capitalist candidate Philippe Bhutto has declared that one should never vote for the far right.
In his reading of the results of the first round of the French elections, political analyst Nizar Al-Jedli sees that they came very close to the opinion polls that took place during the past months, specifically in the weeks preceding the voting process.
Al-Jalidi explained to “Sky News Arabia” that the expectations of victory are moving towards Macron to a large extent, pointing to the importance of supporting the losing candidates for him, as they express a voting bloc that cannot be underestimated, and he also enjoys the support of a sector of the French who reject some ideas related to right-wing parties.
Al-Jalidi pointed out that “most of the losers in the first round went to support Macron, as he is less sharp in ideas and proposals than his rival Le Pen, and is more rational in dealing with international, regional as well as local files.”
The political analyst pointed out that the Ukrainian war “casts a great shadow on the French elections, and has a significant positive impact on Macron’s chances of winning the elections.”
The results of the first round of the French presidential elections showed that outgoing President Macron (28.5 percent) and far-right candidate Le Pen (23.6 percent) qualified for the second round, according to preliminary estimates by Ipsos.
The turnout in these elections was 65 percent as of 3:00 p.m. GMT, noting that 12 candidates competed at this stage of the entitlement.
Opinion polls show that more than half of the French are primarily interested in topics such as purchasing power, their wages and rising energy prices, while immigration issues, health care reform and education are at the bottom of their concerns. A hundred of them claim that the latter represents the absolute presidential system, which raises controversy in France, as the majority believes that it is good in dealing with major crises, and on the contrary, others consider it unrealistic and elitist.
#French #elections