French leader Emmanuel Macron urged citizens on Sunday (10), the day of the first round of presidential elections in the country, to block the coming to power of his far-right opponent, Marine Le Pen, when the two clash in the second round. shift on April 24th.
At 9:45 pm Macron took the stage to address an enthusiastic audience at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris after winning more votes than his opponent. He said “nothing is decided” yet and promised he would work to convince all voters, including those who abstained or voted for far-right and far-left candidates, to vote for him.
His speech lasted 15 minutes. If elected, he said, he would carry out his project of an independent France, within a strong Europe, without populism and without xenophobia.
Macron thanked all the defeated candidates, except his opponent, and said that the only credible project on purchasing power, which has become the central theme of this campaign, is his. “I know that some will vote for me to stop the far right, not to support my bill. I respect that,” she said.
Earlier, at around 8:30 pm, Le Pen took the stage at the Chesnaie du Roy pavilion in Paris’ Floral Park, where her supporters were celebrating, to thank voters who saw her as the most qualified to defeat Macron.
In her own triumphant speech, Le Pen sought to capitalize on anti-Macron sentiment following the protests against the Yellow Vests government and called it divisive and polarizing, vowing to stitch together a “torn France” if elected.
“The second round will be a fundamental choice between two opposing visions: either division and disorder, or the mobilization of the French people around social justice,” he said. She called on all those who did not vote for Macron to join her.
According to Ipsos figures, released after the polls closed (at 8 pm in Paris, 3 pm in BrasÃlia), the centrist president has 28% of the votes, compared to 23.2%. of the far-right candidate. In third place is the ultra-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon, with 21.7%.
The second round will re-edit the 2017 elections, in which Macron, 44, faced Le Pen, 53. In the first round of 2017, Macron obtained 8.6 million votes, with 24% of those valid, while Le Pen totaled 7.7. million, with 21%. A poll released this Sunday, also by Ipsos, points to a 54% to 46% victory for Macron in the second round. In 2017, he defeated Le Pen by 66% to 34%. The last time a French president won re-election was 20 years ago, with conservative Jacques Chirac.
About 49 million voters were eligible to go to the polls, but abstention is estimated at 26%, higher than five years ago, when it reached 22.2% — in France, voting is not mandatory. Abstention this Sunday is just no higher than that recorded in 2002, when the rate was 28.4%.
