EU WAITS ANXIOUSLY
50,000 cops on high alert as 47 million vote for president
PARIS
‘RODONG SINMUN’, North Korean newspaper , of the world clashing,” said Ifop pollsters’ Jerome Fourquet. “Macron bills himself as the progressist versus conservatives, Le Pen as the patriot versus the globalists.”
But, conservative Francois Fillon is making something of a comeback after being plagued for months by a fake jobs scandal, and leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon’s ratings have surged in recent weeks. Any two of the four is seen as having a chance to qualify for the run-off.
The seven other candidates, including the ruling Socialist party’s Benoit Hamon, two Trotskyists, three fringe nationalists and a former shepherd-turned-centrist lawmaker are lagging far behind in opinion polls.
“I have no idea who I’m going to vote for. It’s a disaster. I am going to go and vote but only because I have to,” said 60-year-old Pierrette Prevot in Paris.
Security has played an important part in national debate since Thursday’s killing of a policeman by a suspected Islamist here, with some arguing it could increase Le Pen’s chances.
But, previous militant attacks, such as the November 2015 killing of 130 people in Paris ahead of regional polls, did not appear to boost the votes of those espousing tougher national security policies.
MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2017
The possibility of a Le Pen-Melenchon run-off is not the most likely scenario but is one which alarms bankers and investors.
While Macron wants to further beef up the euro zone, Le Pen has told supporters “the EU will die”. She wants to return to the Franc, re-denominate the country’s debt stock, tax imports and reject international treaties.
Melenchon also wants to radically overhaul the EU and hold a referendum on whether to leave the bloc. Le Pen or Melenchon would struggle, in parliamentary elections in June, to win a majority to carry out such radical moves, but their growing popularity worries both investors and France’s EU partners.
“It is no secret that we will not be cheering madly should Sunday’s result produce a second round between Le Pen and Melenchon,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said, adding that the election posed a risk to the global economy. If either Macron or Fillon were victorious, each would face challenges.
For Macron, a big question would be whether he could win a majority in parliament in June. Fillon, though likely to struggle less to get a majority, would likely be dogged by an embezzlement scandal, in which he denies wrongdoing. Reuters