One presidential hopeful donned an apron and served frites from a food truck. Another put on a harness and climbed to the top of a wind turbine. Yet another launched a “1,000 bistros” listening tour. Gimmicky showmanship means that presidential-election season is under way. At a two-round vote next April and May the French will elect a successor to Emmanuel Macron, who cannot stand for a third consecutive term. Polls consistently favour Marine Le Pen of the populist-right National Rally (RN), who launched her campaign on September 13th. With seven months to go, therefore, the presidential race has turned into a single question: who can beat Ms Le Pen?
France’s centre has one question: who can beat Marine Le Pen?
Summary
The RN leader, on her fourth presidential bid, has a commanding lead. Five new polls give her 32-36% in the first round—at least 13 points ahead of her nearest rival, Edouard Philippe, one of Mr Macron’s former prime ministers.Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
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