France's Macron slated to win against Le Pen in last Harris-Interactive presidential election poll

Record ID: 1669661

  • Title: France's Macron slated to win against Le Pen in last Harris-Interactive presidential election poll
  • Date: 22nd April 2022
  • Summary: VINCENNES, FRANCE (APRIL 22, 2022) (REUTERS) FRENCH FLAG FLYING OVER VINCENNES CASTLE ETAPLES, FRANCE (APRIL 22, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF LE PEN VISITING MARKET IN NORTHERN FRANCE LE PEN SPEAKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (French) FAR-RIGHT CANDIDATE MARINE LE PEN, SAYING: "Yes but it's not the polls that make an election you know, we often say 'the polls make the campaign bu
  • Embargoed: 6th May 2022 16:58
  • Keywords: French presidential election Le Pen Macron polls pollster
  • Location: VINCENNES, ETAPLES AND FIGEAC, FRANCE
  • City: VINCENNES, ETAPLES AND FIGEAC, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Europe,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA004332022042022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: French President Emmanuel Macron was seen winning France's presidential election run-off against far-right challenger Marine Le Pen with 55% of the votes according to the last poll before Sunday's vote by Harris Interactive-Challenges published on Friday evening (April 22).
    The two candidates made final appeals on Friday to undecided voters weighing fears of what a Le Pen presidency could bring against their anger at Macron's record.
    According to the latest surveys for Sunday's (April 24) run-off, fear may win the day over loathing: Macron the centrist, pro-European incumbent leads his anti-immigration, eurosceptic challenger by between 10-14 points, well outside margins of error.
    On the last day of campaigning, Le Pen, who was visiting a market in the coastal town of Etaples brushed off the poll results. "It's not the polls that make an election," she told journalists on Friday morning.
    But the fact that nearly three in 10 voters say they will not vote or have not made up their minds means a surprise Le Pen win similar to events such as Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president cannot entirely be ruled out.
    Jean-Daniel Levy of Harris Interactive pollster said a win by Le Pen seemed unlikely.
    "There's always the risk of seeing a category of the population which we can't quite identify wake up. That risk seems quite low because it's a two-round election," he said.
    In recent days, Macron has toned down his often abrasive style with acknowledgments that his attempts at economic and social reform had left many French angry and dissatisfied.
    Four separate surveys published on Thursday and Friday showed Macron's score nonetheless either stable or slightly rising to reach between 55.5% and 57.5%.
    But they also put turnout at between 72% and 74%, which would be the lowest for a presidential run-off since 1969.
    Le Pen, whose policies include a ban on Muslim headscarves in public, giving French nationals priority on jobs and benefits, and limiting Europe's rules on cross-border travel, says Macron embodies an elitism that has failed ordinary people.
    That resonates for many on the streets of the former industrial north of France, a region which includes many Le Pen strongholds and where she has chosen to conclude her campaign.
    It was the same message on Friday among supporters who turned out to see her in the coastal town of Etaples.
    (Production Lucien Libert)
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