As the campaigns intensify, France’s National Front party appears to be gaining strength as Marine Le Pen gains support from the country’s concerns of security.
Monday’s daily OpinionWay poll showed that first-round support for Le Pen rose to 27 percent, with Macron and Republican Francois Fillon unchanged at 20 percent each.
“[Le Pen] is likely to get the larger share of the vote in the first round,” said Economist Intelligence Unit European analyst Emily Mansfield.
However, she maintains the final victory for the National Front is not on the cards, predicting France’s centrist voters will band together against the far-right candidate.
Le Pen has been compared to American President Trump on a regular basis due to her harsh stance on immigration and conflation of the Muslim religion with terrorism.
“Ideologically, they are very similar, but one difference is communication style,” Stanford Professor of French studies Cecile Alduy said on Wednesday “Trump has made his brand about political incorrectness and going against all the ethical, moral, and even linguistic taboos that used to reign in the political world. So we see misogyny, racism, you name it. However, Marine Le Pen is trying to polish the rhetorical and communications style of the National Front. Her father used to be like Trump, causing media buzz by saying something outrageous or anti-Semitic. Marine Le Pen has ironed out the rhetorical style of the National Front and wants to look presidential.”
“Trump has made his brand about political incorrectness and going against all the ethical, moral, and even linguistic taboos that used to reign in the political world. So we see misogyny, racism, you name it. However, Marine Le Pen is trying to polish the rhetorical and communications style of the National Front. Her father used to be like Trump, causing media buzz by saying something outrageous or anti-Semitic. Marine Le Pen has ironed out the rhetorical style of the National Front and wants to look presidential.”
Things are looking less hopeful for the divided left. “We have no choice but to get on to face the right and far-right, or else we are out of the second round,” said Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, secretary general of the Socialist Party.