Macron hotfoots it on the campaign train
President Macron was out campaigning in some of northern France’s poorest industrial towns today – one of the heartlands of his far-right opponent Marine Le Pen – after last night’s results revealed there is everything to play for in two weeks time.
Emmanuel Macron won the first round of the French elections with a slightly better margin than expected, taking 27.84% of the vote, compared to Le Pen’s 23.15%. Yet supporters of the National Rally leader are buoyant: this is the best a far-right candidate has ever done in the first round of national elections.
The biggest shock of the night was how well far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon performed, trailing just one point behind Le Pen. When it comes to the runoff vote for the French presidency, these far-left voters may well hold the key to the Elysee.
In previous national elections, left and right-wing voters have united to block the far-right from power – a phenomenon known as a “republicain front.” But this time, there’s no guarantee Mélenchon’s supporters will back Macron.
So far Mélenchon has left his voters in limbo. All he has said is: “You must not give any vote to Madame Le Pen.” But he also couldn’t bring himself to endorse the incumbent president. Polling suggests a third of his supporters will now abstain, a third will defect to Macron and a third will ignore their former favourite’s plea and cast their vote for Le Pen.
Le Pen’s hard-line stance on immigration hasn’t shifted: her manifesto included a ban on not just burkas but all Muslim headscarves in public spaces, as well as “a referendum on immigration to prioritise native French people for jobs, housing and healthcare.”
Yet those who loathe Macron’s centrist president’s globalist and pro-European policies, might recognise certain similarities between her and Mélenchon: both dislike NATO and are eurosceptics – with Le Pen pledging to cut EU budget contributions.
The National Rally leader is also working hard to win over the anti-Macron left by posing as the “workers’ friend.” The president, on the other hand, is a former banker who embodies the “power of money” and is out of touch with the people, insists Le Pen.
She does have some economic policies to back this up. Le Pen has promised to cut taxes, waive income tax for under-30s, offer free public transport for young workers and tax-free overtime pay for the proletariat. She’s also tightened the race by focussing heavily on the cost of living crunch – and pledging to vastly lower VAT on fuel and energy from 20% to 5.5%.
Meanwhile critics say her opponent has been too busy focusing on Ukraine and flexing his muscles on the international stage to worry about the plight of his own domestic population.
In fact, under Macron, French unemployment has actually fallen to its lowest level since 2008 – which many say is testimony to reforms he made during his first term in office. But this achievement could get eclipsed by the cost of living crisis – especially since his rival is proving so popular among those struggling to pay bills or fill up their petrol.
Now, Macron’s aim is to ensure this achievement is not forgotten. In deprived industrial areas in the North where Le Pen is attracting much support, he will spend the coming days highlighting the government’s proven record in creating jobs and reinvigorating industry.
If the polls are pointing in the right direction, it might be just enough for him to pull off a close victory in a fortnight’s time.