France holds presidential elections within a week. Meet the candidates and a likely second-round scenario | World

• Emmanuel Macron (in March!): 28%
• Marine Le Pen (National Assembly): 21.5%
• Jean-Luc Melenchon (France Not subject to: 15%
• Eric Zemmour (reoccupation): 11%
• Valerie Pecres (Let’s Be Free): 9.5%

The two most voted candidates – according to the poll, Macron and Le Pen – will face off in the second round on April 24.

Official dates for the campaign in France It’s usually short, says University of the South Pacific international relations professor Kay Lehmann, but in practice, candidates have been battling to get votes longer. “In the midst of that, there was an invasion of Ukraine, which changed the scenario of the elections,” he explains.

Since the beginning of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Macron has tried to present himself as a leader who knows how to govern in times of crisis, is reliable, experienced and represents the least dangerous option, says Professor Lehmann. The problem is that he has voters Decide who votes for internal and not externalAnd there is no guarantee that the European leader will decide anything.”

According to the professor, both the far right (Le Pen and Zemor) and the left (Melenchon) have already made statements of praise for Putin in the past and should have problems explaining themselves now.

Macron and Le Pen should advance to the second round, Lehmann said. The big question, he says, will be Le Pen’s final Zemmour support. The far-right TV commentator campaigned for him, saying that Le Pen no longer represented the conservative sector. “We will see how the personal relations between Le Pen and Seymour emerged and whether there was any attempt to bring them together again,” the professor comments.

See what the main candidates are proposing:

In his first term, Macron cut taxes on businesses and the wealthy, made it easier to hire and fire employees, and used the budget to keep the country running during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a centrist, he is a supporter of a strong European Union, and he has tried to lead diplomatic efforts to avoid war in Ukraine.

Macron is the youngest leader in the world France Since Napoleon. His victory in 2017 was considered a surprise.

During his presidency there were waves of protests. Protesters expressed the view that Macron is detached from the general population and its needs.

Marine Le Pen He is the leader of the most traditional far-right party in Francethe National Assembly.

She will run for president for the third time. In 2012, it ranked third. In 2017, in second place, behind Macron.

Le Pen has worked in recent years to improve the image of her party, which was seen as racist and xenophobic.

Traditionally, she has made statements against the European Union. Lately, however, she has avoided criticizing the block – she only said it would change a currency France.

Le Pen is trying to attract more voters, but at the same time she has lost supporters to a new competitor, Eric Zemmour (see below).

In 2014, she received a loan from a Russian bank to finance the 2017 campaign, which could be a problem this year.

He is the only left-wing candidate to appear among the leaders in the opinion polls. He’s from the party France Not submissive, and trying to show that his candidacy is popular and against the right.

Mélenchon promised to freeze product prices, raise wages, and boost public services.

Among some of his supporters, he is nicknamed “Melen-show” for his oratorical ability and power in rallying crowds – he held a massive rally in Paris on March 20.

His goal is to mobilize the French left after the decline of the French socialists in recent years.

Since 2012, the left has not reached the second round in France.

He ran in 2017 but was disqualified from the final vote. Now, in 2022, he is trying to position himself as an anti-Macron candidate.

Zemmour is a writer and TV show participant. He was already known to be a far-right nationalist against immigrants and Muslims.

It came in second place in the polls, but slipped.

Zemmour is the son of Algerian Jews. He presents himself as an example of someone assimilated into French society in the post-war period – according to him, France It is now a state in a state of corruption, and the civilization of the country has been blown up by the influence of Muslims, who are able to do so because there are no controls for immigrants.

He says he wants the borders back and that naming children like Muhammad should be banned.

He has already criticized what he calls the feminization of society, and wants to send children with disabilities to “special schools”.

In September 2020, he said he favored an alliance with Russia, which he says is a more reliable partner than the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom.

She was a minister twice. She is currently the head of government for the Paris region. She tries to present herself as a cross between Margaret Thatcher (she even calls herself the Iron Lady) and Angela Merkel.

Pecres participated in the governments of Presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy. During the pandemic, Macron has been criticized for increasing government spending.

The candidate advocates ending the 35-hour workweek and raising the minimum retirement age to 65 (now 62).

Recently, he has made tougher statements about immigrants as well as about Muslims in France (She said that would prevent mothers who accompany their children on school trips from wearing the headscarf, and extremism would be grounds for dismissal.)

Watch the most watched videos in g1