Chasers Fillon and Melenchon level as French election nears
HARD-LEFT presidential challenger JeanLuc Melenchon and conservative Francois Fillon were neck-and-neck behind the frontrunners in an opinion poll yesterday, as candidates made last-ditch appeals to undecided French voters.
Voters will cast their ballots on Sunday in the first round of what has transformed into the most unpredictable French election in living memory, with four candidates within reach of the two places in a run-off a fortnight later.
Pollsters forecast the most likely outcome of the first round was that centrist Emmanuel Macron would go head-to-head against far-right leader Marine le Pen in the May 7 second round.
But the race to succeed the unpopular socialist President Francois Hollande has tightened in recent weeks.
A Harris Interactive poll showed Melenchon – propelled from wildcard to genuine contender, in part thanks to feisty television performances and smart social media campaign – was level with one-time favourite Fillon, with 19% of support.
That put the two men only three percentage points behind Le Pen – on 22% – and trailing Macron, who consolidated his status as the frontrunner on 25%.
The Harris poll showed that Macron, a former banker who quit as economy minister in August to set up his independent “En Marche!” or “Onwards!“movement, would beat Le Pen or any other candidate in the run-off.
That prediction is in line with other polls.
Fillon’s ratings have gradually recovered after his campaign hit the rocks following nepotism allegations, and yesterday he redoubled attempts to dissuade his core voters from straying to Macron’s camp.
Seizing on a foiled attack this week in which he and other candidates were seen as potential targets, the 63-year-old former prime minister sought to reinforce his tough stance on security. “In the fight against militant Islam, like on everything else, Emmanuel Macron stance’s is blurry,” Fillon told Le Figaro newspaper, saying, as president, he would take a much harder line on extremists.
Melenchon, meanwhile, pressed his criticism of European Union institutions – a stance that has increasingly worried investors as his support has grown. – Reuters