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Candidates in France’s looming presidential election are pushing to make themselves heard over the war in Ukraine, as polls suggest incumbent Emmanuel Macron remains the clear favourite to win.
Buoyed by his shuttle diplomacy and toughness on Moscow since its troops invaded Ukraine, the president is riding high with two weeks to go but has faced accusations of ducking real debate.
Questioned Sunday on his meagre campaigning, a testy Macron told broadcaster France 3 that “no-one would understand at a moment when there’s war” if he was out electioneering “when decisions have to be made for our countrymen”.
Short of a major upset at the April 10 first round, Macron’s opponent in the runoff will be far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen — a repeat of five years ago.
But her far-right rival Eric Zemmour, conservative Valerie Pecresse and left-winger Jean-Luc Melenchon still hope they can break out from the pack to reach the second round on April 24.
“Everything could be decided in the two weeks to come,” with four in 10 likely voters still undecided, Adelaide Zulfikarpasic of the BVA Opinion polling group told AFP.
Brawl on the right
Former columnist and TV commentator Zemmour on Sunday rallied thousands waving French flags under a cloudless sky near the Eiffel Tower.
He urged more energy from his supporters after a speech hitting familiar notes of nostalgia for past French greatness and swipes at unassimilated immigrants.
“Nothing and nobody will stop us from writing the destiny of our country, nothing and nobody will steal this election from us,” he vowed.
Now trailing below 10 percent in some polls, Zemmour is far short of Le Pen’s roughly 20 percent and Macron at close to 30.
Le Pen strove to project serenity as allies — including her niece Marion Marechal — deserted her for the tougher-talking Zemmour.
Instead Le…
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Source : france24
