Macron allies warn: Victory not yet certain

Some of French President Emmanuel Macron’s allies have said voters still need convincing that his policies are best for them ahead of the presidential runoff.

Senior political allies of Macron have warned against complacency in France’s presidential runoff, saying the victory is not certain despite polls indicating his lead over his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen is widening.

“The game isn’t done and dusted and we certainly cannot draw the conclusion… that this election is already decided,” the French prime minister, Jean Castex, told French radio, five days before Sunday’s second round.

“We have to convince the French that Emmanuel Macron’s programs are the best for France and for them. Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are being put on the same level, but there are enormous differences between them,” he added.

“Nothing should be taken for granted given the many election ‘unknowns’ – most particularly a possible low turnout,” said Édouard Philippe, the mayor of the northern city of Le Havre and, according to a recent survey, France’s most popular politician.

“At this stage either candidate could win. Everything is possible. We have all seen voters make choices historians later consider crazy,” François Bayrou, another heavyweight Macron backer, told La République des Pyrénées.

New EU Anti-fraud report accuses Marine Le Pen of embezzling European Parliament public funds

Far-right French presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen along with figures close to her has been accused of embezzling about 600,000 Euros in European public funds during their membership in the European Parliament.

Macron himself made clear on Monday night that he did not consider the election already won, recalling the political earthquakes of 2016, when British voters chose to leave the EU and the US electorate put Donald Trump in the White House.

“Think back to what British citizens were saying hours before the Brexit referendum, or in the US before the Trump vote came: ‘I’m not voting. What’s the point?’” Macron told the TV show C à vous. “I can tell you, the next day they regretted it. If you want to avoid the unthinkable or something that revolts you, choose for yourself.”

Macron will go head-to-head with Le Pen last Wednesday in their only direct clash before Sunday’s second-round vote, an encounter to be watched by millions of voters.

Ipsos on Tuesday projected Macron winning 56.5 percent of the vote in the runoff against 44 to 47 percent for Le Pen.

In recent days, thousands of French people have been protesting in different cities, claiming that the candidates qualified for the second round of the presidential election completely ignore their priorities, including about the environment, social justice, anti-racism and Islamophobic violence. They also express concern about their standards of living.

The 2022 presidential election in France is unlike any of the previous ones, mainly due to the events that have taken place on the political and social arena in recent years such as an economic crisis, the COVID pandemic, the Ukraine conflict, and the increasing pressure on minorities, such as Muslims and immigrants.

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