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PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON has launched a bitter attack against far-right leader Marine Le Pen after warning supporters to take nothing for granted in an increasingly tight French election.
Macron is due to address a rally for the first time in his re-election campaign in Paris on Saturday as the clock ticks to the first round of France’s presidential polls on 10 April.
The president, who was late entering the campaign as he was sidetracked by Russia’s war against Ukraine, for the first time attended a meeting at the headquarters of his Republic on the Move (LREM) party last night.
“The president-candidate called for a collective mobilisation, based on the idea that nothing is won yet,” a source, who took part in the meeting, told AFP.
His attendance, which had not been announced by his team, came after a series of polls showed that Le Pen, the president’s main election rival, is catching up on Macron, who has long been the overwhelming favourite to win.
The latest Elabe poll published yesterday showed Le Pen winning 47.5% of the vote in a second-round run-off against Macron, who was projected to garner 52.5%, a smaller margin than in the same poll last week.
With a margin of error of up to 3.1 points, those figures suggest Le Pen could theoretically emerge as the winner in the second round.
‘Le Pen can win’
Analysts say Le Pen has been helped by focusing on basic issues like dwindling purchasing power and also by seeming more moderate in comparison to her fellow far-right candidate, the ex-pundit Eric Zemmour.
“Of course Marine Le Pen can win,” Macron’s former prime minister Edouard Philippe said in an interview with the Le Parisien daily posted online today.
Philippe, who has founded his own party but is generally seen as an ally of Macron, added that “if she wins, believe me, things will be seriously different for the country … Her programme is dangerous”.
The ex-premier, a heavyweight seen as playing a part in the next government or even as a successor to Macron in 2027, said that the president was “by far” the best candidate standing.
On a campaign visit to the southwestern town of Fouras, Macron insisted that there was no difference between Le Pen and Zemmour. They were both “extreme right,” he said.
There is a “duo on the far right and I’m fighting it”, Macron said, lamenting the crumbling of the traditional “republican front” against the extremes.
“People have normalised it, looked away, they’re saying ‘they’ve got nicer’ … so we shouldn’t be surprised” to see a strong Le Pen, he added.
Macron’s re-election had been seen by many observers as almost a foregone conclusion, as polls suggested Le Pen would again be his rival in the run-off, a repeat of the vote five years ago.
But he formally entered the election campaign only at the last minute, citing his diplomatic efforts to halt Russia’s war in Ukraine as the reason for the delay.
Recent days have seen the government on the defensive over liberal use of public money on expensive management consultants such as US-based giant McKinsey.
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I believe that Greater Manchester has a similar population to Ireland, and is represented (completely adequately) by, er, 27 MPs! Fewer TDs would surely mean money saved? And fewer NIMBY, or even IMBY, decisions?
Your belief is incorrect.
I remember George Hook used to use the ‘greater Manchester’ line nearly every day to snear at our country so I had to do my own research as I suspected he was incorrect.
The statistics confirm that the population of our country is more than twice the population of GM.
@donal O’brien: So all we need is 54 TD’s then. Thanks for clarifying that.
@David Corrigan: they have a much stronger local government setup with more councillors and officials. And the UK has parliaments in Scotland Wales and NI
@: That is assuming the UK is the ideal standard of political representation…(it very much is not)
@donal O’brien: We definitely don’t get good output from our representatives. The majority of them contribute nothing and are only heard at election times.
@: Yeah. Lets copy what they do in the UK. They’re a great role model :)
Referendum needed to reduce the amount of tds to max 100. Gravy train needs to stop
We need more GPs in the communities more doctors and nurses in our hospitals and more Guards on our streets to deal with the increase in population…we do not need more TDs and spending more money on politicians
What about the rest of the country or is it only Dublin that matters come general election time?
@Douglaslad: I’m sure they are current writing the articles about the new Laois, Offally and Wicklow- Wexford constituencies and the other changes
@Douglaslad: Yes.
@donal O’brien: Tell me where is there any mention of Cork which happens to be the second most populated county in the country or other Munster and Connaught counties for that matter this is typical carry on of the Dublin centric Journal.ie.
That’ll probably save Leo his seat.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: By changing from a 5 seat to a 3 seat. Explain your logic there
@andy masterson: The old constituency now has 6 seats.
so, Donabate, Rush, Lusk, Skerries etc. will all reside in the Dublin Fingal West constituency while actually being located further East than Swords, Balgriffin etc. which will be in Dublin Fingal East constituency.
Well done, lads.
@Conrad Stapletwin: my same thought. Why not Fingal South and Fingal North? I live in Rush and can see the sea from my road, I could barely be more East.
Will D6W post code be gone now?
Referendum on increasing the numbers per TD badly needed! Did the commission take into account the number of houses planned. for in the given constituencies?
so, Donabate, Rush, Lusk, Skerries etc. will all reside in the Dublin Fingal West constituency while actually being located further East than Swords, Balgriffin etc. which now reside in the Dublin Fingal East constituency.
@Conrad Stapletwin: where did you see that?
@Mary Conneely: in the article.
have your say