French voters uncertain as elections approach

Opponents Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron are tied in the polls ahead of France’s presidential elections in April and May.

Macron, an independent centrist, gained a slight edge on Thursday, March 23, when two members of the powerful Socialist Party pledged him their support.

Still French voters seem undecided whether to support the standard two parties or to back Macron, who has pledged to transcend the usual Left-versus-Right politics or Le Pen, whose anti-immigrant, nationalist program seems popular enough to get her into the final two-way election.


Macron, an independent, and Le Pen, of the far-right National Front, could beat out the two major parties, the Parti Socialiste (Socialists) and Les Républicains (Republicans,) in the April preliminary polling, which has never happened before.

This would be akin to the Libertarian and Green Party candidates beating the Democrats and Republicans in presidential primaries in the United States.

Reuters