FRANCE’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2022 IS UNDER WAY

Sun 24 April 2022:

In the presidential runoff, French voters will pick between incumbent centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.

According to polls, Macron, 44, has a comfortable lead, but observers warn that poor turnout might shift the outcome in either direction. A total of 48.7 million people are eligible to vote in the election.

In most regions, polling stations opened at 8 a.m. (06:00 GMT) on Sunday and closed at 7 p.m. (17:00 GMT), with the exception of major cities, which elected to keep stations open until 8 p.m.

Macron’s popularity has plummeted since 2017, but the war in Ukraine has bolstered his re-election chances, especially in light of Russia’s ongoing advance in the east.

Marine Le Pen’s dogged focus on inflation and the cost of living have seen her perform better than in 2017.

Unlike previous elections where immigration, religion-versus-secularism and identity were front and centre, this election has been fought on two principle issues, purchasing power and security.

Le Pen has focused hard on the feeling that the voters’ money buys less: almost 70 percent of voters say their purchasing power has decreased under Macron’s first term.

Security and the ongoing war in Ukraine are other issues playing a key role in voters’ decision-making. They are seen as Macron’s strong point who did not spare an attack on Le Pen’s close ties to Russia during the presidential debate on April 20.

Macron also bitterly opposed her plan to make it illegal to wear the Muslim headscarf in public.

Polls have consistently predicted that Macron will win a second term. The race tightened during the first round of election, but he appears to have pulled away since then. They now suggest a Macron victory around the 56-44 percent range.

“It’s a stark choice the French face today. Both candidates offer a very different version for the way they see France in the future,” Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith, reporting from the capital, Paris, said.

“Both candidates are also vying for the vote of the far-left, Jean-Luc Melenchon who was defeated in the first round just by 1 percent by Marine Le pen.

“Melanchon did not endorse Macron, he just said no vote should go to the far-right,” Smith said.

Analysts have warned, however, that the incumbent president, who came to office in 2017 at the age of 39 as the country’s youngest contemporary leader, cannot afford to take anything for granted, with turnout critical to victory.

Above all, he must persuade left-wing voters who supported other candidates in the first round on April 10 to hold their noses and vote for the pro-European centrist former investment banker to prevent anti-immigrant Le Pen from becoming president.

Because of the time difference with mainland France, polls in overseas territories, which are home to over three million French, opened earlier.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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