election in France
Close race expected between Macron and Le Pen – lower turnout than 2017
Macron or Le Pen? The two politicians are considered the most promising candidates in the presidential election.
© Nicolas TUCAT / AFP / AFP
In France, people voted for a new head of state on Sunday. It is considered likely that President Macron and his challenger Le Pen will make it to the runoff. Voter turnout was initially much lower than in the last election in 2017.
In the first round of the presidential election this Sunday, the French will choose the candidates for the landmark run-off in two weeks time. It is likely that incumbent Emmanuel Macron and his challenger Marine Le Pen will go into the April 24 run-off. While President Macron is hoping for a second term in office, right-wing nationalist Le Pen has been able to catch up significantly in recent polls. As soon as the last polling stations close, the first projections are expected at 8 p.m.
Brussels and Berlin are also watching the outcome of the election with excitement and concern. A victory for the populist Le Pen would come as a shock to many politicians. Because the Paris-Berlin axis, currently in tandem between Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Macron, is a driving force in the European Union. In Brussels, the 44-year-old Macron recently tried to present himself as a reformer of the EU. In the Ukraine war he was also able to distinguish himself as one of the leading mediators.
Le Pen’s victory would also mean consequences for Europe
Eurosceptic Le Pen is threatening a fundamental reorientation of the French course, in which Europe would only play a subordinate role and Germany would no longer be the partner of choice. Instead, a France under Le Pen would turn more to countries like Hungary or Poland. Confrontations with Brussels would be inevitable should Le Pen implement some of her election promises. With Le Pen, France could go from being a driver to a brake on EU initiatives.
If Le Pen wins, the United States and Europe’s previously united front against Russia’s war in Ukraine could be jeopardized. This is also viewed with great concern in the US government. Election advertising showed the 53-year-old at a meeting with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in 2017 until the outbreak of war. After the end of the war, Russia could become a partner of Europe again in the foreseeable future, as Le Pen, a friend of Putin, has already said.
Left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon had also figured out a chance for the finals. In polls, he was some distance behind Macron and Le Pen. With socio-political demands, he won voters’ favor in view of the noticeable economic consequences of the Ukraine war for the French population. For weeks, the election campaign has focused primarily on the purchasing power of the French and concepts against rising prices.
Eleven against Macron: These people want to move into the Élysée Palace
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France: Lower voter turnout than five years ago
By 5 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, 65 percent of the 48.7 million registered voters had voted. The turnout, which institutes had previously expected to be rather low, was actually noticeably below the comparative value of 69.42 percent on the afternoon of the 2017 election Sunday – but also significantly above the 5 p.m. value of 58.45 percent in the presidential election with the worst participation so far in the first round in 2002.
An attempt was made to increase voter turnout with unusual individual campaigns. The head of a real estate agency in Burgundy, for example, promised his employees a bonus of 100 euros if they voted. The winter sports resort of Gets offered voters the ski pass on Sunday for one euro instead of 37.50 euros. Pursuing one’s favorite sport on Sunday does not have to stand in the way of the civic duty of voting, it said.
Because of the time difference, some French overseas territories, such as the Caribbean, voted on Saturday. Macron, Le Pen and the other ten candidates cast their ballots by Sunday noon. On the island of Corsica, Corsican activists hung an anti-French banner in front of the central electoral office in Bastia. As reported by the regional broadcaster France 3 Corse, the protest tape read “French State Murderer”. Next to it was a photo of Corsican nationalist Yvan Colonna, recently killed in custody by another inmate. The accusation is that France did not adequately protect him.