Incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen will contest a run-off election in April after they secured the highest share of votes in the first round of voting, with Macron gaining 28% of the votes to Le Pen’s 23%.
Ahead of the vote on Sunday, Macron reaffirmed his ambition to deepen France’s ties with Europe and forge alliances with “major democracies to defend itself.” He outlined his vision of a France that “fights against Islamist separatism” and allows people “to believe or not to believe, to practice their religion,” adding, “[I do not want] a France that, having left Europe, would have as its only allies populists and xenophobes.”
Following his success in the first round, he declared, “On April the 24th, we can make the choice of hope. We can make the choice of France and Europe together!” For the second round, Macron is planning to mobilise left-wing voters by highlighting his pro-European stance, climate action strategy, and efforts to promote women’s rights.
The full, final results of the French presidential election.
— Taniel (@Taniel) April 11, 2022
Macron 28%
Le Pen 23.15%
Melenchon: 21.95% (gap of 400K)
Zemmour: 7%
Pecresse: <5%
Jadot: <5%
6 others: 11%
Turnout was 74% of registered voters (so 70% of eligible), second-lowest in presidential election history. pic.twitter.com/rS0nJrZcq0
Macron has also vowed to fight back against inflationary pressures amid global supply chain disruptions, saying, “I will put all my strength to convince everyone that the only project for purchasing power is ours, that the only credible project against the high cost of living is ours, that the only project for workers is ours.”
While Macron wants to strengthen France’s position within the bloc, Le Pen wants to promote French sovereignty. “I will bring back France’s sovereignty in all areas, which means freedom for the French people to decide for themselves and defend their interests,” Le Pen asserted. The far-right leader has said she intends to revoke certain obligations France currently has to the European Union by re-establishing border controls on goods within the single market and introducing VAT cuts and a stricter migration policy. Le Pen has also been vocal in her desire to ban hijabs in public areas, reduce the cost of living, and cut taxes for those under 30.
France: Melenchon voters are key in the runoff - last time they gave Macron the benefit of the doubt, now they deeply dislike him, even think he is as toxic as Le Pen (for different reasons) / and wow 1/3 of Pecresse voters back Le Pen, another third abstain, via @FT pic.twitter.com/8PFIUhsKVz
— Anne-Sylvaine Chassany (@ChassNews) April 12, 2022
A coalition of candidates who failed to gather a sufficient share of votes in the first round—centre-right Valérie Pécresse (4.79%), Green contender Yannick Jadot (4.63%), socialist Anne Hidalgo (1.75%), and Communist Fabien Roussel (2.28%)—have urged their supporters to support Macron in the second round. “I will vote in conscience for Emmanuel Macron to impede Marine Le Pen from coming to power and the chaos that would result,” Pécresse stated, with other candidates reiterating similar messages. Similarly, while far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who came third with 20% votes, did not explicitly ask his supporters to back Macron, he underscored, “You must not give a single vote to Marine Le Pen.”
On the contrary, two other far-right candidates, Eric Zemmour (7.07%) and Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (2.06%), have called their supporters to vote for Le Pen.
During previous elections, Le Pen has advocated for leaving the EU and dropping the Euro as France’s official currency. To broaden her appeal and voter base, she has since adopted a moderate approach and dropped plans to leave the Union and cooled her demand for a move away from the Euro. Nevertheless, her National Rally party continues to strongly oppose France’s European commitments and remains deeply Eurosceptic.
French President Emmanuel Macron took his re-election bid to a northern blue-collar stronghold of his far-right leader Marine Le Pen, kicking off a tense fight to win the presidential election runoff on April 24 https://t.co/RcNf1xnbWw pic.twitter.com/qn7azCNCg3
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 12, 2022
Le Pen’s Eurosceptic approach has Brussels worried, since several of her policies are at odds with European commitments and partnerships with other member states, making Macron the heavily-preferred candidate for the EU.
Eric Maurice from the Robert Schuman Foundation remarked in an interview with Euronews that the bloc is closely monitoring the French presidential elections. “For the EU, the second round will ultimately be for continuity with Macron and a pro-European stance. So we can imagine that he is the preferred choice from the point of view of European partners and European institutions,” he said.
About Le Pen, Maurice said, “And on the other side, Marine Le Pen, who - even if she no longer wants to get rid of the euro - the main basis of her political programme calls into question the obligations and commitments of France within the EU. Any eventual election of Le Pen would be a major problem for Brussels.”
The second round of voting will take place on April 24. As per the exit polls and the first round of voting, Macron is currently projected to secure a second term as president. However, it is not clear how the supporters of the candidates who lost in the first round will vote in the run-off.