Emmanuel Macron’s top political allies have lined up to warn against complacency in France’s presidential race, saying the current president is not sure he will win, although polls suggest his lead over far-right rival Marin Le Pen is growing. .
“The game is not over and dusty, and we certainly cannot conclude … that this election has already been decided,” French Prime Minister Jean Castex told French radio five days before Sunday’s second round.
“We need to convince the French that Emmanuel Macron’s programs are the best for France and for them. Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are on the same level, but there are huge differences between them.
Castex’s immediate predecessor, Edouard Philippe, now mayor of the northern city of Le Havre and, according to a recent poll, France’s most popular politician, also said that nothing should be taken for granted given the many electoral “unknowns” – especially possible low selective activity.
Philippe told Le Figaro that the French “Republican Front”, the union of center-right and center-left voters that had so far excluded the far right from power, was clearly “no longer a natural reflex, no doubt due to fatigue”.
Francois Bayrou, another Macron supporter in the heavyweight division, told La République des Pyrénées that “at this stage, any candidate can win. Anything is possible. We’ve all seen voters make choices that historians later thought were crazy. “
Macron himself made it clear on Monday night that he did not consider the election already won, recalling the political turmoil of 2016, when British voters chose to leave the EU and the US electorate put Donald Trump in the White House.
“Think about what British citizens said hours before the Brexit referendum or in the United States before the Trump vote: ‘I’m not voting.’ What’s the point? ”Macron told C à vous. “I can tell you that the next day they were sorry. If you want to avoid the unthinkable or something that repulses you, choose for yourself. ”
Studies show that after the vote in the first round on April 10, increased control over Le Pen’s manifesto – in particular her proposals for “national preference” in jobs, welfare and housing, which experts say would violate French and equality of the EU, and for the economy identified by economists as dangerous – slowed its progress.
Marin Le Pen posed for a photo with a public representative during a campaign visit to Saint-Rémy-sur-Havre, northwestern France, on Saturday. Photo: Alain Robert / SIPA / Rex / Shutterstock
Macron’s expected lead for Sunday’s decisive second round now averages eight or nine percentage points in all polls, with the latest, released on Tuesday, suggesting the gap widened from eight to 12 points on Friday.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Mer told Europe 1 on Tuesday that Le Pen, who has long admired Russia and borrowed from Russian banks, would “hand over France’s sovereignty to Vladimir Putin” if elected.
“I have heard Marin Le Pen’s proposals for international policy… This is the end of French sovereignty,” Le Mer said, adding that her victory would lead to an alliance with Putin, a lack of NATO protection and a severance of ties with Germany.
Castex said his government would resign if Macron was re-elected president in a bid to give a new impetus to the president’s centrist La République En Marche party on the eve of the June parliamentary elections.
The June vote will be another major test of Macron’s popularity, and the resumption of his majority will be essential if he is to pursue his reformist agenda, including controversial pension reform.
Macron and Le Pen will face off on Wednesday night during a live televised debate on a second round, traditionally a key moment in France’s presidential election, which could be critical to winning millions of voters, especially from the left.
Le Pen reportedly rehearsed with his closest associates on Tuesday in an attempt to avoid a disastrous performance that was thought to hasten her defeat in 2017.
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