Topline
Early polling data from France’s election Sunday indicates French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen will face off in a runoff in two weeks to determine the country’s next president, marking a rematch of the 2017 election between Macron and Le Pen.
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, with Marine Le Pen at the Elysee Palace in 2019.
Key Facts
Exit polls from French pollsters show Macron captured 28.1-29.5% in the first round of voting on Sunday, while Le Pen earned 23.3%-24.4%, far outpacing the 10 other candidates.
The top two candidates will advance to a runoff election April 24 so long as neither earns 50% or more of the total votes cast Sunday.
Macron beat Le Pen by a 66.1%-33.9% margin in the 2017 runoff election, but polls show Macron holds a narrow lead against Le Pen in a potential head-to-head matchup this year.
Key Background
Macron, a member of the centrist La République En Marche! party, has emerged as a critical figure in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, and has maintained consistent diplomacy with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Le Pen, the president of the far-right National Rally party, has been criticized for her expressed admiration of Putin before Russia’s war on Ukraine, and unnamed White House officials told Politico Saturday a Le Pen victory could destabilize the West’s united response to Russia. In the lead-up to the 2022 election, Le Pen has distanced herself from Putin and backed away from other views on the extreme right—a shift aided by fellow candidate and media pundit Eric Zemmour, a firebrand whose politics lie further right than Le Pen’s. Notably, Zemmour has been criticized for his continued defense of Russia following the invasion and his extreme anti-Muslim stances, allowing Le Pen to seem softer in her stances despite supporting a controversial fine for Muslims who wear hijabs in public.
Surprising Fact
A sitting French president hasn’t won re-election in two decades.
Further Reading
Macron, Le Pen will qualify for French election runoff, initial projections show (Reuters)
The White House is freaked out that Putin’s next big win could be in Paris (Politico)
Marine Le Pen is still decidedly far-right, despite her softened image (Le Monde)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/04/10/macron-and-le-pen-set-for-french-presidential-runoff-rematch-polls-show/