Macron vs Le Pen: The French presidential election
France’s presidential election will be a rematch of the 2017 contest, when the far right’s Marine Le Pen faced off against political newcomer Emmanuel Macron. Macron won that race by nearly two votes to one. But while the candidates remain the same, the 2022 race is shaping up to be a very different affair. To elect their new President, French voters head to the polls twice.
Macron and Le Pen held one debate on the evening of April 20 that was aired by French broadcasters France 2 and TF1. Le Pen appeared much more prepared than in the event in 2017, when her poor performance effectively doomed her campaign.
Le Pen attacked Macron on economic measures, arguing he has not done enough to help French families cope with inflation and rising energy prices, while Macron went after Le Pen’s ties to Russia and previous support for President Vladimir Putin.
A poll from CNN affiliate BFM TV found that 59% of voters found Macron to be the more presidential of the two. The runoff election will take place on Sunday April 24.
Candidates are not allowed to campaign the day before the vote, or on election day itself, and the media will be subject to strict reporting restrictions from the day before the election until polls close at 8 p.m. Sunday in France. The polls show a much closer contest than the 2017 election.
Macron and Le Pen both increased their total share of the vote in this year’s first round compared with 2017, but surveys ahead of the first round earlier this month showed Le Pen enjoyed a late surge of support in March.
Most losing candidates urged their supporters to back Macron to block the far right from winning the presidency. Eric Zemmour, a right-wing former TV adviser known for his inflammatory rhetoric, urged his supporters to back Le Pen. At the start of 2022, the election looked set to be an important referendum on the rising popularity of the French far right.
It has been 20 years since a French President was reelected, so the vote was shaping up to be one of the country’s most watched political races in decades. With Europe’s eyes fixed firmly on Putin’s bloody war, priorities have quickly shifted. Ammunition stockpiles, high-stakes diplomacy and even the threat of a nuclear strike have all entered the national debate.
Macron assumed the role of Europe’s statesman, taking him away from the campaign trail, while Le Pen was forced to backtrack on her previous support for Putin.
