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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Macron’s lead dwindling with two challengers close behind

By: V4 Agency

A new survey shows that the popularity rating of the current president has fallen by 2 to 3 per cent since early this month, while support for his rivals, Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour, has increased by roughly the same magnitude during this period.

Six months ahead of the French presidential elections, Emmanuel Macron’s popularity is declining, the French polling institute Elabe found in its latest survey commissioned by L’Express and BFMTV. According to L’Express, voter support for the incumbent president varies between 23 and 26, which means he continues to be the most popular candidate, but his lead is narrowing. His popularity rating has dropped by 2 to 3 per cent compared to figures from 6 October.

Survey findings show that Marine Le Pen, president of the National Rally, is in second place, with 19 per cent of voters in her favour, which is 1 to 3 per cent higher than in early October. Like Le Pen, Eric Zemmour also enjoys growing popularity. Although the renowned essayist has not yet officially announced his running in next year’s presidential race, the study has found that support for him is significant (15-16 per cent), he is just slightly behind Marine Le Pen. 63-year-old Zemmour gained 1-2 per cent more potential votes than at the time of the previous survey.

The latest poll by Elabe also highlights that 40 per cent of those intending to vote said they may still change their preference before the election, with the remaining 60 per cent saying they were certain of their choice. Those most certain of their candidate are the potential voters of Marine Le Pen (77 per cent), Eric Zemmour (70 per cent) and Emmanuel Macron (69 per cent).

The first round of the presidential election in France will be held on 10 April, 2022. President Macron’s challengers include Michel Barnier, former chief negotiator for Brexit in the European Union and Anne Hidalgo, socialist mayor of Paris. The survey suggests that Barnier is supported by 8 per cent of the respondents, while Hidalgo’s popularity is around 5 per cent.

The first round is definitive in deciding the future president if one of the candidates wins an absolute majority of the votes; otherwise, the two candidates gaining the most votes go on to the second round.

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