Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: four martyrs, 70 injured by IOF fire near aid center west of Rafah, southern Gaza.
The Mujahideen Movement: The two were killed along with dozens of others from their family in a cowardly Zionist assassination that targeted the Sabra neighborhood today
The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement mourns the martyrdom of its Secretary-General, Asaad Attiya Abu Sharia "Abu Al-Sheikh", along with his brother Ahmad
Abu Zaid: I believe that the Iranian operation was multi-layered, combining cyber and electronic attacks with coordinated on-the-ground infiltrations by agents
Abu Zaid: Usually, archives of such sensitivity are typically protected by a full-scale security system, but it appears that Iranian intelligence managed to make use of a gap in it
Strategic military expert Nidal Abu Zaid: Iran has stripped "Israel" of the superiority and deterrence long boasted by its security minister, chief of staff, and other top officials
Fallahpour: Iran may use these documents in its battle with the United States and Western countries over its nuclear program
Fallahpour: Iran may have obtained additional documents related to "Israel's" regional projects, not just its nuclear program
Fallahpour: The coming weeks will be full of surprises, as Iran has forced Israeli intelligence agencies into a state of psychological exhaustion
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Tehran, Siavash Fallahpour: Iran has redefined the concept of deterrence, shifting it away from traditional military balance toward a new strategic framework

France prepares for first round of presidential election

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 9 Apr 2022 21:50
5 Min Read

French President Emmanuel Macron is still ahead of his far-right counterpart, but will he remain ahead of her as the polls open early on Sunday or will Le Pen take his place?

  • x
  • France Affichage Plus workers paste official campaign posters of French Presidential election candidates on electoral panels in Saint-Herblain near Nantes, France, March 28, 2022 (Reuters)
    France Affichage Plus workers paste official campaign posters of French Presidential election candidates on electoral panels in Saint-Herblain near Nantes, France, March 28, 2022 (Reuters)

France is setting the stage for a showdown between its presidential candidates projected to lead to run-off elections between the current President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen.

Projections show that the gap between the two will be much tighter than it was during the last election in 2017, with some polls showing Macron only pulling 1% ahead of Le Pen.

Further political activity by candidates has been put on a hiatus until the election takes place early on Sunday morning, starting at 6 AM GMT local time.

Analysts warn that the outcome remains highly volatile with uncertainty remaining over voter turnout, with some experts fearing this round of elections will see the highest record of election boycott in France's history.

Projections may not hold true when it comes to reality, as the radical right-wing candidate has been facing much criticism over her beliefs that many have deemed racist and Islamophobic, but her ratings have been sky high, right at the heel of the incumbent President. Additionally, the biggest tranche expected to boycott the election is the French left, which would mean more votes for Le Pen.

The divide within the French electorate, which has them swaying between five candidates with somewhat different views, could be very harmful to Macron.

An Elabe poll, whose findings were published on Friday, predicted that Macron could win 26% of the votes, while it put his radical opponent just 1% behind him at 25%. Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon came in third place with 17.5%, and his far-right counterpart Eric Zemmour came in fourth with 8.5%. Republican candidate Valerie Pecresse came in fifth with 8% of the vote. All in all, Macron is projected to win 51% against Le Pen, poised to get 49%.

Macron, however, did not shy away from bringing up the war in Ukraine as a reason for his lacking, as he said he was not able to campaign as much as he would have liked to due to the situation in the eastern European nation.

Related News

Half a billion adolescents could face obesity by 2030, report warns

A roundup of Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024

Fear is still mostly about the electorate boycotting the election. Analysts fear that the 2002 record of the numbers of French voters boycotting a first-round (28.4%) is at risk of coming in second place in 2022, pushing the 2017 record of 22.2% to third place. Some analysts speculate that the 2002 record could still be in first place but the 2017 record will surely be overtaken this year.

The population of the electorate amounts to 48.7 million voters across mainland France and its islands in Canada, the Caribbean, and the Indian Ocean.

The odds are shaky for Macron, as no President since Jacques Chirac in 2002 was able to win a second term, though a win for him would surely go down in France's history, where it is very rare for presidents to renew their terms on the chair.

On the other hand, analysts also see that Marine Le Pen's election bid was aided by her more extremist counterpart Eric Zemmour, who was pulling ahead in the polls last year but whose push made his other far-right opponent seem more moderate.

Analysts are questioning whether Macron would be able to garner the same support from the anti-far right "Republican front" coalition, which landed him in the Elysee Palace and had put Jacque Chirac in his place over a decade before then when he was up against Le Pen's father in 2002.

Finally, Macron's reelection campaign has been met with quite the obstacle as he prepared to hold his first big rally today over his affiliation with the US consulting company, McKinsey and Co.

A report from the French Senate questioned the government's usage of private consultants and accused the American firm of tax dodging. Macron's rivals are using this to undermine his bid at reelection, and it is following him to his campaign stops just days before the April 10 vote, the first round of the elections.

Critics are describing the government's step of spending some 1 billion euros on a US consulting firm as some sort of "privatization" and "Americanization" of French politics, calling on the Elysee Palace to be more transparent.

The French senate controlled by Macron's opposition had published a report last month on the use of private consulting firms, and it found that Paris' spending on such contracts had increased two-fold over the past three years, despite questionable results. The Senate also put the issue of conflict of interest on the table.

All in all, Macron could be in hot water this election, and it is hard to tell who will emerge victorious and rule the French people for the next five years.

  • Carribean
  • Indian Ocean
  • Canada
  • Eric Zemmour
  • French elections
  • Emmanuel Macron
  • Marine Le Pen
  • France

Most Read

Lebanon's PM Nawaf Salam meets with US envoy Morgan Ortagus in Beirut on April 5, 2025 (Dalati Nohra via AP)AP)

Morgan Ortagus to exit US role in Lebanon amid policy shift

  • Politics
  • 1 Jun 2025
A Palestinian woman mourns as she embraces the body of her daughter Mayar Abu Odeh, 8, who was killed in an Israeli army strike on Gaza. at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP)

French port workers block arms shipment to 'Israel' amid Gaza genocide

  • Politics
  • 4 Jun 2025
The logo of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence (wikidata)

Iran acquired thousands of sensitive Israeli documents: Exclusive

  • Politics
  • 7 Jun 2025
New Syrian group claims Golan strike, vows resistance to 'Israel'

New Syrian group claims Golan strike, vows resistance to 'Israel'

  • Politics
  • 4 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/pentagon-chief--nato-likely-to-back-trump-s-5--defence-spend
Politics

Europe spent $3 trillion on defense, but got little in return - FT

Power, parties, and scandal: Trump’s ties to Epstein: Telegraph
Europe

Power, parties, and scandal: Trump’s ties to Epstein - The Telegraph

Eilat port as seen from the sea, occupied Palestine, March 12 2009 (wikimedia commons)
Politics

YAF operations forced 80% plunge in Eilat port revenues in 2024

EU backs International Criminal Court after US sanctions judges
Europe

EU backs International Criminal Court after US sanctions judges

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS