Le Pen is right on my tail: Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged that his re-election this month is under threat from Marine Le Pen, the right-wing populist, after polls showed her within striking distance of him in their expected runoff on April 24.
Ms Le Pen, leader of the farright National Rally, had succeeded in softening her image by focusing her campaign on the cost-of-living crisis, and had benefited from her contrast with Eric Zemmour, the more radical antiIslam polemicist, Mr Macron said.
The President was questioned during a campaign visit to the seaside town of Fouras, on the Atlantic coast, after an opinion poll showed 47.5 per cent of voters would back Ms Le Pen compared with 52.5 per cent for him.
That contrasted with 39 per cent for Ms Le Pen last month in the same Elabe poll when Mr Macron, 44 – who has long been the favourite – enjoyed a surge after the start of the Ukraine war and was on 61 per cent.
Mr Macron’s view was echoed by centre-left media, which reported that Ms Le Pen, who is 53 and in her third run for the presidency, was closing in on the Elysee Palace after a strong campaign.
Her manifesto for helping lower-income families has masked radical policies against immigrants that would mark a turning point in French history.