Polls give Macron edge over Le Pen
PARIS: Centrist Emmanuel Macron saw his position as favourite to win France’s presidential election boosted yesterday in two polls, one showing him ahead of farright leader Marine Le Pen in the first round of the twostage contest.
A monthly Cevipof survey, considered the most authoritative because it has a far bigger sample size than most polls, put Le Pen well ahead in the April 23 first round, although Macron was seen easily beating her in a May 7 runoff.
However, a Harris Interactive poll showed Macron winning the first round with 26% of votes, with Le Pen taking second place on 25%, setting him up to trounce her in the runoff with a score of 65%.
It was the second poll in a week that put the 39yearold ahead of Le Pen in the opening round, a signal that the centrist former economy minister may be consolidating his position 45 days from the first stage of the contest.
Le Pen, who leads the antiEuropean Union, antiimmigration National Front, faced strong criticism of her policies yesterday from International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, a former French economy minister.
Without referring to Le Pen by name, Lagarde told Le Parisien newspaper that her flagship policy — pulling France out of the euro — would lead in the short term to ‘‘a period of very grave uncertainty, of great imbalance and of impoverishment of France’’.
Macron’s showing in the Harris poll has helped ease concerns about the prospects of Le Pen winning.
The race remains difficult to call, though, after a string of surprises, including Socialist incumbent Hollande’s decision not to seek a second term, and surprising wins in primaries for contenders the pollsters had ruled out.
Hollande has asked his ministers to wait until March 24 before stating publicly which candidate they will support. That has led to speculation some senior ministers will throw their weight behind Macron as the best bet to beat Le Pen, rather than Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon, who is polling poorly.
Financial scandals have engulfed Le Pen and conservative Francois Fillon, who slumped in the polls after he was accused of using public cash to pay his wife for a ghost job. The latest surveys suggest his support is stabilising.
After a series of resignations, Fillon’s team announced senior appointments on Thursday to try to shore up his campaign, including former finance minister Francois Baroin in the special role of unifying the fragmenting Republicans party. — Reuters