Almost all candidates called on voters in the second round to vote for Macron or against Marine Le Pen.
The current President of France Emmanuel Macron for The results of the first round of elections are ahead of the right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen with a difference of less than 3%, according to the results of the processing of 90% of the vote.
The next two weeks will be very difficult for both candidates who could not run a full-fledged campaign, said Tara Varma, senior researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations and head of the ECFR Paris branch.
” Two program platforms will be presented with very different views on European and foreign policy and further implications for European sovereignty, NATO membership, migration, “the expert said.
Macron voiced several foreign and domestic policy priorities in the case re-election as President:
- support and development of science, technology, army, agriculture;
- improving the welfare of citizens, education, medicine, pensions;
- combating climate change, environmental planning.
< li> secularism, the fight against Islamic separatism.
“A country that believes in science and reason. A strong European country that believes in the union of democracies, humanism and the spirit of the Enlightenment says “no” to populists and xenophobes, “the expert quoted Macron as saying.
Marin Le Pen stressed that the election on April 24 (the second round of elections – ed.) Will be for “society and civilization.” She also presented part of the program, mainly internal priorities.
“She stated that she has strong ambitions in the field of democracy, economy and environment, social issues such as purchasing power, health, housing” and that it wants to unite the people of France around a “people's national project of common destiny,” Varma adds.
Le Pen's speech was focused on the left of the electorate, challenging Macron on issues that proved difficult for him, especially against the background of the “Yellow Vests” movement.
8% and 1.8% failed to overcome the 5% barrier to reimbursement of election campaign expenses.
“A complete reconfiguration of French policy is approaching. It started in 2017, but now it will be completed, “the expert said.
The “Republican Front” against the far right seems to have revived, Varma said. Virtually all candidates called on voters in the second round to vote either for Macron or against Marine Le Pen. Jean-Luc Melanchon called on voters not to vote for Marine Le Pen. Only right-wingers Eric Zemmour and Nicolas Dupont-Enyan asked voters to vote for Le Pen.
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France's election campaign has captivated millions of people around the world. We are particularly concerned about the growing support for the loyal to Russia Marin Le Pen in the United States.
Le Pen's victory will cause the biggest crisis in the European Union since Brexit, Politico reported. And it could destabilize the Western coalition against the Kremlin.
Political stability could be threatened not only in NATO but also in the EU. For Ukraine, Le Pen's victory could threaten to end France's support on the diplomatic front and halt military aid.
