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
Trump: We want to feed the people in Gaza, we do not want them to starve.
US President Donald Trump: We will impose sanctions on Russia if it does not end the war on Ukraine.
Israeli media: Polls show that 52% oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while only 29% support him.
Israeli media: 32% of Americans still support "Israel's" war on Hamas, while 60% oppose it.
Israeli media: Core US support for "Israel" hits its lowest, while support for Palestine reaches its highest levels.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent reports martyrs, injuries in Israeli bombardment of home in Heker al-Jame area in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza.
Al-Quds Governorate: Today, the spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque began in a public and dangerous manner, and we warn of a religious war in the region
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: This brings the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition to 175, including 93 children
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: Gaza's hospitals recorded six deaths due to starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, all of them adults
Informed sources to Al Mayadeen: A new chapter in relations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency will begin within the framework of the new law passed by Parliament

Macron, Le Pen vying for Mélenchon's voters

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 23 Apr 2022 10:57
5 Min Read

Macron accused Le Pen of "living off fear" as both try to persuade Mélenchon supporters to vote for them.

  • x
  • Macron extends poll lead over Le Pen
    Macron extends poll lead over Le Pen.

France's two presidential candidates have traded their final punches ahead of Sunday's decisive runoff, with surveys suggesting that fear of a Marine Le Pen triumph outweighed disdain for Emmanuel Macron and his record.

Hours before a media blackout was set to begin at midnight, the incumbent and his far-right rival made their final arguments to undecided voters in radio interviews and walkabouts, with Le Pen claiming Macron's polling lead will be shown deceptive.

“Polls aren’t what decides an election,” the Rassemblement National (National Rally) leader said in Étaples in her northern stronghold, attacking the current president’s “condescension and arrogance” and insisting her policies held up under scrutiny.

“I call on people to form their own opinion, read what I propose,” she said, adding that Macron “calls millions of French voters ‘far right’; for him, it’s an insult. I’ve never expressed even the slightest hostility to his voters.” In a radio interview, she went further, saying Macron “does not like the French”.

Le Pen slammed her centrist rival’s unpopular plan to extend the retirement age to 65, saying it amounted to “a life sentence”, Le Pen said the choice facing French voters on Sunday was “fundamental. It is in the hands of the French people. It is Macron or France.”

Macron accuses Le Pen of racism 

Macron, for his part, accused Le Pen of attempting to split France and stigmatize Muslims by proposing to abolish the hijab in public. "The far-right feeds on fear and fury to build resentment," he explained. "It says that isolating segments of society is the solution."

Related News

Melenchon hails Macron's failure in elections

1st round parliament vote: Macron, Mélenchon parties neck and neck

Much of Le Pen's platform, including her pledge to prioritize French nationals for jobs and benefits, "abandon the foundational documents of Europe that safeguard persons, human rights, and liberties," the president stated on French radio.

Her ideas would bar non- and dual-nationals from numerous public-sector employment and limit their access to social benefits, as well as repeal automatic citizenship rights for children of non-nationals born in France and make naturalization more difficult.

Read more: Macron lost the French left, but now needs it for victory

 

He also slammed his opponent's plans to address the cost of living crisis, the main focus of her campaign, saying she "gives the impression she has an answer, but her answers aren't viable" – though he admitted Le Pen had "managed to draw on some of the things I didn't manage to do to pacify some of the people's anger."

The cost of living has emerged as the election's main campaign issue, with a sustained squeeze leaving many voters saying they are struggling to make ends meet despite support during the pandemic, fuel price caps, and data indicating that all but the poorest 5% of French households are better off than five years ago.

Elections turnout prediction 

Following Wednesday's fractious live TV debate, polls published on Thursday and Friday showed Macron's score stable or rising at between 55.5 percent and 57.5 percent, and Le Pen's at between 42.5 percent and 44.5 percent – a lead for the incumbent of between 10 and 14 points, but a far closer race than the 66 percent -34 percent score when the same two contestants met in the previous 2017 election.

Moreover, the data also indicate a strong public impression of Macron as an aloof, arrogant, and high-handed leader who is out of touch with ordinary people's issues. Many leftists, in particular, believe he has moved strongly to the right since taking office, despite his 2017 commitment to be "neither left nor right."

Turnout is expected to be between 72 and 74 percent, the lowest for a presidential runoff since 1969. The turnout for the second round of voting in 2017 was 74.56 percent. Easter holidays are starting in much of France, exacerbating an abstention percentage already inflated by the many French voters who feel politically orphaned and unrepresented by the two-round contest.

Read more: ‘Neither Macron nor Le Pen’: French protesters in Paris

 

Both candidates are attempting to win over the 7.7 million voters who supported left-wing firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the first round on 10 April and are now saying they are tempted to stay home or spoil their ballots.

Starting at midnight, neither candidate will be able to give interviews, distribute fliers, or hold campaign events until polling stations shut down on Sunday evening and preliminary results are available.

The polls will open at 8 am on Sunday and shut at 7 p.m. in most of France and at 8 p.m. in key cities. Voting begins in France's overseas territories on Saturday.

  • Jean-Luc Mélenchon
  • French elections
  • Marine Le Pen
  • France
  • Emmanuel Macron

Most Read

A rescued crew member from the ETERNITY C vessel in a video released by the Yemeni Armed Forces on July 28, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen Navy reveals fate of targeted Eternity C ship crew

  • Politics
  • 28 Jul 2025
An Israeli tank explodes following an ambush by al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza, Occupied Palestine, undated (Al-Qassam Military Media)

Al-Qassam strikes Israeli vehicles in Gaza, inflicts casualties

  • Politics
  • 30 Jul 2025
UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

  • Politics
  • 1 Aug 2025
An explosion seen during an Iranian missile attack on Tel Aviv, Occupied Palestine, June 13, 2025 (AP)

If Iran is attacked again, geography of response may change: IRGC spox

  • Politics
  • 30 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A member of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, takes part in a parade as he celebrates a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Israeli regime in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, January 19, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Al-Qassam: We’ll allow aid to Israeli captives if Gaza siege ends

Freed Lebanese freedom fighter Georges Abdallah during an interview on Al Mayadeen, which aired on Sunday, August 3, 2025 (Al Mayadeen screengrab)
Politics

Exclusive: Resistance key to building state, Georges Abdallah says

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres gives a statement about the situation in Gaza at UN headquarters, Friday, June 27, 2025 (AP)
Politics

UN warns Gaza faces water crisis, looming famine under Israeli siege

Israeli soldiers drive their armored personnel carrier along the Gaza Strip, in southern occupied Palestine, Wednesday, July 30, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ex-Israeli general says Gaza starvation campaign isolated 'Israel'

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