Macron supporters warn victory not guaranteed

Emmanuel Macron’s friends have warned against complacency in the French presidential election, despite polls showing him ahead of far-right contender Marine Le Pen.

“The game isn’t over and we can’t conclude that this election is already decided,” Jean Castex, the French prime minister, said French radio five days before Sunday’s second round runoff.

“We must persuade the French that Emmanuel Macron’s plans are best for France and them. “Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are compared, but their contrasts are enormous.”

He echoed his immediate predecessor, Édouard Philippe, now the mayor of Le Havre and, according to a recent poll, France’s most popular politician.

For Philippe, the “Republican front”, the coalition of centrist and centrist voters that has so far kept the extreme right out of power, was “no longer a natural response, probably owing to fatigue”.

“At this moment, any candidate may win,” François Bayrou told La République des Pyrénées. It’s all doable. We’ve all seen voters make ridiculous decisions.

Macron made it plain on Monday night that he did not consider the election won, remembering the 2016 political earthquakes that saw the UK exit the EU and the US elect Donald Trump as president.

“Remember what Britons said hours before the Brexit referendum, or Americans said before the Trump vote: ‘I’m not voting.’ So what?’ Macron told C à vous. “They regretted it the following day. Choose for yourself whether you want to escape the unfathomable or revolting.”

Recent polls show that examination of Le Pen’s platform – particularly her ideas for a “national preference” in employment, benefits, and housing that experts say would violate French and EU equality standards, as well as for the economy – has halted her growth.
According to the newest survey, released on Tuesday, Macron’s anticipated advantage for Sunday’s pivotal second-round vote has increased from eight to 12 percentage points since Friday.

The French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, said on Europe 1 radio on Tuesday that if elected, Le Pen will “give France’s sovereignty to Vladimir Putin.”

“I heard Marine Le Pen’s foreign policy ideas… According to Le Maire, her election would mean a closer relationship with Putin, a loss of NATO security and a break with Germany.

Castex said his cabinet will quit if Macron was re-elected, to give the president’s centrist La République En Marche party a “new impetus” ahead of June legislative elections.

Macron’s popularity will be put to the test again in June, when he must extend his majority to continue his reformist programme, which includes a contentious pension reform.

Macron and Le Pen will debate live on TV on Wednesday night, a crucial moment in the French presidential election, which might win over millions of supporters, particularly on the left.

On Tuesday, Le Pen allegedly rehearsed with her closest allies to prevent the terrible performance that led to her loss in 2017.

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