French election 2022

Opinion polls published before a campaign blackout had Mr Macron coming out on top - but showed the far-right leader of National Rally was closing the gap.

Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Ms Le Pen has been honing in on the day-to-day grievances of average voters. The incumbent centrist president entered late into the campaign, with only one major rally that even his supporters found underwhelming. - Ban on wearing Muslim headscarves in all public spaces, a ban on building big mosques and on foreign financing of the Muslim faith - Keep the minimum retirement age at 62 and raise the minimum pension - Progressively raise the retirement age from 62 to 65 and boost the minimum monthly pension

President Emmanuel Macron is expected to finish first, and may again face the far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the second round. After a muted campaign, ...

While all eyes have been focused on the swift rise of Ms. Le Pen, the far-right candidate, Mr. Mélenchon, 70, the leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, has witnessed a comeback in recent weeks. All with a view, Mr. Macron said, “to securing a cease-fire and then the total withdrawal of troops.” “The way he advertised himself in 2017 has very little to do with what has been done,” he added. Mr. Zelensky, to judge by a recent interview in The Economist, has been underwhelmed. He has pledged to stop immigration, even rejecting refugees from the war in Ukraine, and also proposed expelling immigrants as part of “remigration.” He failed to reposition himself, especially against his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen, and at under 10 percent in most polls, he is unlikely to make it past the first round on Sunday. The first months of the campaign were marked by polarized rhetoric on immigration and security — a characteristic that many residents in Melun deplored. France’s presidents — who have formidable powers at their disposal and set much of the country’s agenda — are elected directly by the people to five-year terms in a two-round voting system. At a time when revived nationalism had produced Brexit and the Trump presidency, he bet on a strong commitment to the European Union — and swept aside his opponents with an incisive panache. “I’m in favor of selective immigration, instead of the current situation where we have immigrants who are seeking to take advantage of the French system,” said Karl, who works in real estate. Many French people feel left out from the economic growth that Mr. Macron has delivered and are anxious about the violence in their neighborhoods. President Biden has repeatedly said the world is at an “inflection point” in the confrontation between autocracy and democracy.

Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen appear to be the leading candidates in the first round of the French presidential elections, an analysis of early results ...

Surveys ahead of the race showed that a second round of Macron vs. While his ambitious plan to bolster the European Union's autonomy and geopolitical heft won him respect abroad and at home, he remains a divisive figure when it comes to domestic policies. Far-right political commentator turned presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, who enjoyed a seat among the top three candidates until March according to IFOP polling, came in at 7%. While Macron appears on track to win the first round, he is a polarizing figure whose approval rating has lagged during his first term. Macron is seeking to become the first French president to win reelection since Jacques Chirac in 2002. Twelve candidates were running for the top job.

President Macron and the far-right leader Le Pen ahead after first round of French presidential vote, projections show.

Who next holds the Elysee Palace will depend on how those who backed Macron and Le Pen’s rivals cast their ballots. He acknowledged disagreements with Le Pen, but said Macron was a worse choice. Huski believes the gap between the estimated votes of Le Pen and Macron makes the former a weaker challenger than she imagined for the second round. “I intend without waiting to sew back up the tears that a torn-apart France suffers,” she told supporters, who chanted: “We will win!” The runoff “will be a choice of civilisation,” Le Pen added on stage in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen have come out on top of France’s first-round presidential election, qualifying for the April 24 runoff, according to initial projections. President Emmanuel Macron and the far-right leader Marine Le Pen progress to second round of French presidential election, projections show.

President Emmanuel Macron is seeking reelection but faces a crowded field of rival candidates and a narrowing lead in the polls.

Macron is expected to come first today, and he’s polling ahead for the second round, but the gap with Le Pen has considerably narrowed. Her campaign, centered around the cost of living and economic hardship, struck a chord amid rocketing energy prices caused by the Ukraine war. The future of conservative party Les Républicains — stuck between Macron, Zemmour and Le Pen — is arguably in the balance, even more so if Valérie Pécresse scores under 10 percent. However, participation so far remains above the record trough of 21.40 percent in 2002. But out of his 11 challengers, only two were polling in double digits Friday. The French vote today in the first round of the presidential election.

French President Emmanuel Macron will face the far right's Marine Le Pen in a presidential run-off on April 24 after leading the first round on Sunday with ...

The two finalists will vie for France's top job in two weeks' time, on April 24. - Twelve candidates, from the far left to the far right, were on the ballot for the first round. - Some 48.7 million voters were called to the polls forSunday’s first round.