DOWN TO LE WIRE
Macron vs Le Pen vote is like choosing plague or cholera, say fed-up French
French voters go to the polls today to choose their president… and it’s likely to go right down to the wire.
After a tight first round when half of voters backed candidates who didn’t make the final cut, sitting leader Emmanuel Macron faces an even tighter race against far-right National Rally’s Marine Le Pen in a repeat of the 2017 run-off.
Nowhere is it tighter than in Lille. This industrial city near the Belgian border is a key “swing state”.
One in four live below the poverty line here so discontent over immigration and the cost of living helped Le Pen top the local first-round vote.
But many, especially on the left, say the choice between her and Macron is like having to vote for either the plague or cholera.
“It’s a bad choice,” said office worker Emilie, 24. “I don’t trust either.”
Her view is common in this hypermarginal constituency.
“I might not bother voting,” said retail worker Irene, whose family came from Senegal, west Africa. “I don’t like Le Pen but I don’t think Macron will change anything if he stays.”
With a million votes up for grabs, the verdict of Lille’s working-class could be decisive. Dr Françoise Boucek, an expert in French pol itics at Queen Mary University in London, said: “In places like Lille, it’s all about who can appeal to those who feel left behind by the elites in Paris.”
Migration is the dividing issue in the south, which has higher levels of foreign
workers. Le Pen previously called for a ban on free movement and for “Frexit” (France quitting the EU). She has since softened her line but Europe is nervous.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz said Le Pen is “siding with those attacking our freedom and democracy”.
Le Pen’s links to Russian president Vladimir Putin have been a hot issue and in a TV debate on Thursday, Macron told her: “When you talk to Russia, you’re talking to your banker.”
Le Pen’s party has taken millions from Moscow but she denies it compromises her opposition to the war in Ukraine.
Her rejection of plans to cut imports of Russian oil and gas could also appeal to voters hit by soaring bills.
“I will vote for Le Pen,” one veteran leftwinger said. “I always vote communist but we are paying more for things and earning less than ever. Something needs to change.”