French election turn to dead heat as Macron is a no-show
Ramin Mazaheri
Press TV, Paris
The latest voter polls in France have shown an almost total evaporation of a once-sizable lead for President Emmanuel Macron. His edge over 2017’s far-right runner-up, Marine Le Pen, is now down to just 3 points in a hypothetical second round, making the race a dead heat.
France goes to the ballot box for the first round in just a few days, on April 10. Recent missteps by Macron may have alienated a French electorate which featured a 40% undecided rate just last week.
Macron is being openly accused of trying to run from his record by hiding behind the unrest in Ukraine. He has refused to join any debate before the second round vote, and has barely campaigned in France.
With Macron’s refusal there was no typical first-round debate between the 11 presidential hopefuls. Instead, every candidate sat down for a highly-anticipated televised grilling from journalists - all except Macron. His decision has come under harsh scrutiny as being anti-democratic.
Macron, who did not hold his first press conference until more than two years into his term, has long-been criticized as displaying a monarchical aloofness and an authoritarian style of governance.
The election has been dominated by xenophobia, which then created major disinterest and now worries of record abstention. With the left running in third place, a candidate with many far-right policies seems certain to win on April 24th. The huge recent victory of Le Pen’s counterpart in Hungary has many wondering if polls have similarly underestimated the “right-nationalist” candidate in France.
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