The campaign between the two towers is in full swing. Eight days before the election, the outgoing president retains the advantage in voting intentions (from 53 to 55%) but with a smaller margin than five years ago (64/36%). And still with several unknowns, in particular the level of abstention and the postponement of the 21.95% of votes which went to the rebellious candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon on Sunday. This campaign between two rounds is nothing like that of the first, which took place in the shadow of the war in Ukraine which had mobilized the president-candidate a lot.
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4:07 p.m .: Macron continues to tackle the National Rally
In his speech in Marseille, the president-candidate repeatedly attacked the project of his presidential opponent, Marine Le Pen. “I could, here, tell you about the break she is preparing with our secularism, when she wants to stigmatize thousands of French people, by banning the veil, kosher or hallal food. I could have told you about the military alliance with Russia. And not a word for the African continent, on the other side of this sea”, he listed.
“No, don’t whistle the far right, don’t whistle it…. Beat it on April 24!”, he urged in the face of boos from his supporters.
3:49 p.m .: Marine Le Pen accused of embezzlement of public money
Mediapart reveals that the RN presidential candidate is accused, in a report by the Anti-Fraud Office of the European Union, of embezzlement of public money when she was an MEP.
3:41 p.m.: Macron promises to “reconcile instead of divide”
“There is only one project that allows us to unite rather than divide”, he defended, and continued by castigating “the great stunting” (reference to the theory of the great replacement, dear to the far right).
“We have built a civilization and a culture, an openness to the world, a requirement and a desire to always carry this unique voice with regard to the rest of the world, this French pride is that, it is not the great stunting, the great division, the great separation which would consist in telling children born on our soil that they no longer have their rights there”, insisted Macron.
3:30 p.m.: Emmanuel Macron arrived on stage
After a walkabout, the LREM candidate went on stage to begin his speech. “Thank you for being here in Marseille! From Nice to Toulon, from the four corners of this region, you have come today,” he began.
3:14 p.m .: Several hundred supporters of Emmanuel Macron await his arrival at the Pharo
The president-candidate is expected for his big meeting between the two rounds. In the Parc du Pharo, in Marseille, hundreds of supporters have already gathered. Emmanuel Macron is expected to deliver a speech centered on ecology and youth, in the city where Jean-Luc Mélenchon came out on top in the first round. While the candidate’s teams were expecting 3,000 to 5,000 people, the lawn is still far from full.
2:54 p.m .: The demonstration against the far right begins in Paris
The procession formed on Place de la Nation and began to move towards Boulevard Voltaire. We can see groups from the NPA (new anti-capitalist party), the PCF, Solidarité Ouvrière or SOS Racisme.
12:55 p.m .: “I am not obtuse”, defends Le Pen on the question of the veil
Marine Le Pen returned to her proposal to ban the veil in public space. ” I know what the problems with the veil are. There are older women who put it on because it corresponds, for them, to a moment in their lives. (…) It doesn’t have the same meaning as young women who are forced to wear it. put “, estimated the candidate of the RN.
“I’m not obtuse, explains the candidate this Saturday. But we have to solve these problems of women who are forced to put on the veil because they are under pressure from the Islamists.”
It is an evolution of the program of the candidate of the National Rally because it ensures that this ban will pass before Parliament.
11h46 : “The debate is a moment to explain my project “, assures Marine Le Pen
The far-right candidate has planned to go to a bar in Saint-Remy-sur-Avre, in Eure-et-Loir, this Saturday morning. She must meet several people there, including the owner of the establishment to discuss the issue of purchasing power.
The candidate spoke about the debate between the two rounds and said she was “extremely serene”. ” The debate is an important moment to explain my project, to show that it is credible, applicable and that it meets the needs of the French “, she explained.
“That there are people in France (…) who are demonstrating against the elections, it’s still something quite surprising”, also launched Marine Le Pen, when asked about the demonstrations against the far right planned throughout France this afternoon. ” There are dozens of countries in the world where there are no elections. Coming to demonstrate against the results of an election, I find it deeply undemocratic. I think the French find it unpleasant to see that their choice is disputed “.
10:30 am: An action by Extinction Rebellion to put the climate back at the center of the debate
Hundreds of Extinction Rebellion activists began an action this Saturday aimed at ” putting climate issues back at the center of the debate” . They settled in the heart of Paris. The action should last three days and is the biggest blockage since that of the occupation of Châtelet in October 2019.
9:50 a.m.: Robert Ménard supports Marine Le Pen
The mayor of Béziers, close to the far-right candidate, announced this Friday to withdraw from the campaign until the second round. “I have disagreements with Marine Le Pen that I have never hidden. I no longer hear them repeated with each media intervention. So I have decided not to speak again until the second round” did he declare.
Robert Ménard, however, supported the candidate. “This does not mean rallying to Emmanuel Macron. I will vote for Marine Le Pen” he specified.
Louis Aliot returned to the choice of the mayor of Béziers on BFM TV, this Saturday morning. “He does not want systematically on television sets that we discuss what we do not share. He withdraws from the media aspect of the campaign “, explained the mayor Rassemblement national de Perpignan.
9:23 am: Mélenchon, the “French Sanders”
In an analysis published this Saturday, the Jean-Jaurès foundation describes Jean-Luc Mélenchon as “French Sanders”, a figure of the American left. “The oldest candidate is the one who has been most supported by young people,” notes the foundation, which highlighted the distinct components of the LFI candidate’s electorate. Thus, we learn that the 18-24 age group voted 36% for Mélenchon because these people are attentive to global warming and to the “new cultural struggles of the left”, in particular “feminism” and “anti-racism “.
7:30 am: The candidate program this Saturday
Emmanuel Macron is expected in Marseille this Saturday for his first big meeting between the two rounds. The candidate, favorite in the polls, intends to give an image of a popular gathering: several thousand people are expected in a deliberately relaxed atmosphere, without chairs but under a promised summer sun.
Marine Le Pen will make a trip to Eure-et-Loir in the morning.
Demonstrations are organized across France to say “no” to the far right. Florian Philippot’s Les Patriotes movement calls for a “big anti-Macron demonstration for the future of France” , still in Paris. In fact, it will be a rally at 3 p.m., Place Fontenoy, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. Nicolas Dupont-Aignan is particularly expected there. The candidate Debout La France was eliminated in the first round and called to vote for Marine Le Pen in the second.
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