PARIS —
France on Saturday prepared for the
first round of presidential elections projected to produce a run-off rematch
between President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen that will
be far tighter than their duel five years ago.
اضافة اعلان
All further political activity by candidates was
banned on the final day before polls open in mainland France at 0600 GMT on
Sunday, after a campaign overshadowed by
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
French overseas territories will begin voting
earlier to take account of the time difference, starting with Saint Pierre and
Miquelon off the coast of Canada at 1000 GMT Saturday.
Territories in
the
Caribbean, the Pacific, and finally the Indian Ocean will follow before
polling stations open in mainland France.
Polls predict that Macron will lead Le Pen by a
handful of percentage points in round one, with the top two going through to a
second round on April 24.
But analysts warn
that the outcome remains highly volatile with uncertainty remaining over
turnout and some observers fearing a quarter of the electorate may stay away
in a possible record boycott of the vote.
Far-left candidate
Jean-Luc Melenchon is snapping at
their heels in third and still fancies his chances of reaching the second round
at the expense of Le Pen or even — in an extraordinary upset — Macron himself.
Although her opponents accuse her of being an
extremist bent on dividing society, Le Pen has with some success during the
campaign sought to show a more moderate image and concern with voters’ daily
worries such as rising prices.
Macron by contrast has campaigned relatively little,
by his own admission entering the election campaign later than he would have
wished due to the war in
Ukraine.
‘Strange campaign’
If Macron and Le Pen, as forecasted, reach the
second round, analysts predict that their clash will be far tighter than in
2017 when the current president thrashed his rival with 66 percent of the vote.
“There is an uncertainty ahead of the first round,”
said French political scientist
Pascal Perrineau, pointing to an unprecedented
high number of voters who were still undecided or who had changed their minds
during the campaign as well as absentee voters.
Analysts fear that the 2002 record of the numbers of
French voters boycotting a first round of 28.4 percent risks being beaten, with
the 2017 absentee rate of 22.2 percent almost sure to be exceeded.
“We have experienced a strange campaign that was at
odds with what we experienced in the past presidential elections,” Frederic
Dabi, director of the Ifop polling institute, told AFP.
The stakes of the election are high for Macron, who
came to power aged 39 as France’s youngest president with a pledge to shake up
the country.
He would be the first French president since
Jacques Chirac in 2002 to win a second term and thus cement a place in the country’s
history.
If he wins he would have a five-year mandate to
impose his vision of reform which would include a crack at reducing the
pension age in defiance of union anger.
He would also seek to consolidate his position as
the undisputed number one in Europe after the departure of Ger-man chancellor
Angela Merkel.
A Le Pen victory would however be seen as a victory for
right-wing populism and send shockwaves across
Europe and markets.
Read more Region and World
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
