Paris. “Nothing has yet been decided, what will happen in the next fifteen days is decisive for France and for Europe”. Emmanuel Macron is ahead of Marine Le Pen after the first round of the French presidential elections but everything, as always, will be decided in the ballot on 24 April. “You can count on me”, says the president acclaimed by his militants at the Porte de Versailles in Paris, appealing to fellow countrymen of all political backgrounds to block the way to the far right.
Macron got full votes, 4% more than when he was elected in 2017, and kept the bugbear Le Pen at a distance. But everything can come back into question in 15 days and if the outgoing leader – at 28.4% against 23.4% of the challenger – can count on the support of a good part of the right and left, analysts’ calculations say that on Marine Le Pen will converge at least 7% of the votes more than those he took in the challenge of 5 years ago: those of Eric Zemmourwho urged her supporters to vote for her.
“To all those who abstained or voted to the extreme – he continues – or because they are angry at the inequalities that persist, ecological disorder, insecurity and the difficulty of living worthily even when they work hard, or because they feel insufficient represented or listened to, I want to convince them in the coming days that our project responds better than that of the far right to their fears and the challenge of time “.
“I want a France that is inscribed in a strong Europe, that continues to forge alliances with the great democracies to defend itself, not a France that leaves Europe and has no other allies than the international of populists and xenophobes “.
“I will use all my strength to convince everyone that the only project to support purchasing power is ours. That the only credible project against the high cost of living is ours. That the only project for France and Europe is the our”.
“In the next 15 days – concluded Macron – we will spare no effort, because nothing has already been done. We are humble, determined. We are all convinced for April 24. We can choose a new era, for France and for Europe. On April 24, we can make the choice of hope, choose France and Europe, together. Long live the Republic and long live France “.
As the French like to repeat on the evening of the first round, the battle of the second round has already begun. On the Macron front, we look at the challenge live on TV which should be confirmed in about ten days. Five years ago that discussion saw him emerge as the undisputed winner, with Le Pen appearing unarmed of arguments in front of all of France. He finished 66 to 34, but times have changed. And although Valérie Pécresse has said that she will vote for him, the huge neo-Gaullist tank has suffered a 15% flight of the votes, which risk ending up partly in Le Pen. The battle is still long, the bogey Le Pen is still far from being defeated.