- Zelensky denies ceasefire with Russia under discussion on trip
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- After long fight for glory, Nadal leaves with a legacy of memories
- Home hopes Zheng and Wang through to last-eight in Wuhan Open
- UN peacekeepers say Israel fired on Lebanon HQ, injuring 2
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Alcaraz out as top players pay tribute to Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Racing's Farrell 'not thinking' about British and Irish Lions
- Alcaraz, Sinner pay tribute to 'unbelievable' Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- After K-pop, K-novels? South Korean Nobel win sparks joy, hope at home
- After Nadal exit, Djokovic left to rage against dying of the light
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Triple centurion Brook happy to break Dad's club record
- Zelensky touts 'victory plan' against Russia in Macron talks
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- UN peacekeepers accuses Israel of firing on Lebanon HQ
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- Southgate taking year out from coaching
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- Zelensky meets Macron in Paris as part of European tour
- Hurricane Milton shreds Florida stadium roof
- UN probe accuses Israel of seeking to 'destroy' Gaza healthcare
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- England in sight of victory after Brook's triple hundred
- Juventus readmitted to ECA after failed Super League revolt
- World number 2 Alcaraz knocked out of Shanghai Masters by Machac
- Leaders of Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia meet amid regional tensions
- Klopp's Red Bull decision 'ruined life's work' say Dortmund fans
- Han Kang wins South Korea's first literature Nobel
- S. Korea's Nobel winner Han Kang a modest, thought-provoking writer
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- The almost impossible job: Beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open
- New French government faces key test with budget plan
- Rescuers say Israeli strike on Gaza school kills 28
- Italy's ex-world champion gymnast Ferrari announces retirement
- Zelensky talks 'victory plan' in meeting with Starmer, Rutte
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Federer lauds retiring Nadal's 'incredible achievements'
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Australia beat China 3-1 to resurrect World Cup campaign
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- Nadal defied injury woes in record-breaking career
- Nadal v Djokovic, French Open, 2006: Chapter One in epic rivalry
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- Pakistan at 23-1 after Brook triple hundred takes England to 823-7
- Zelensky meets Starmer, Rutte on whirlwind tour of Europe
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Rafael Nadal calls time on epic tennis career
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
RBGPF | 4.03% | 63.35 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0% | 6.9 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.16% | 24.56 | $ | |
RELX | -0.59% | 46.435 | $ | |
GSK | -1.91% | 39.485 | $ | |
BP | 0.91% | 32.275 | $ | |
AZN | -0.77% | 76.915 | $ | |
NGG | 0.47% | 65.94 | $ | |
BTI | -0.5% | 35.305 | $ | |
RIO | 0.35% | 66.58 | $ | |
SCS | -3.04% | 12.645 | $ | |
BCC | -1.32% | 140.54 | $ | |
JRI | -0.07% | 13.211 | $ | |
VOD | -0.31% | 9.7 | $ | |
BCE | -1.15% | 32.93 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.26% | 24.745 | $ |
Le Pen in final push ahead of tight French election battle
French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen made a final push for votes Thursday, three days ahead of an election which polls project as an increasingly tight battle against President Emmanuel Macron.
The incumbent had built what seemed like an unassailable lead ahead of the first round of polls Sunday but Le Pen has eroded the margin and feels she has a real chance of winning the run-off on April 24.
With France's traditional right- and left-wing parties facing electoral disaster, far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon is on course to come third and he still believes he can sneak into a run-off.
Le Pen was to hold her last campaign rally on Thursday evening in the southern stronghold of Perpignan where her National Rally party has long had strong support and runs the local council.
In an interview with RTL radio, the anti-immigration politician vowed to ban the Muslim headscarf in all public spaces saying it would be enforced by police in the same way as seatbelt-wearing in cars.
The latest OpinionWay-Kéa Partners survey showed Macron falling back to 26 percent in the first round and Le Pen edging up to 22 percent, with Melenchon also gaining ground on 17.
Macron was projected to beat Le Pen in the second round with 53 percent to her 47 -- a narrower margin than the same pollsters forecast last week.
A new Ifop-Fidicual poll showed similar trends of Macron slipping and Le Pen gaining with the president on 26.5 percent in round one and Le Pen on 24 percent. Macron was projected to win the second round with 52 percent compared with Le Pen's 48.
Le Pen, 53, has toned down her anti-immigration rhetoric during campaigning this year and has focused instead on household spending, putting her closer than ever to power, polls indicate.
"It's the first time that I feel this confident" said Mireille Redon, 74, who has voted for the Le Pen and her father Jean Marie, who founded their movement, for more than 20 years.
"I feel like she's ready. She's learned from her mistakes and seems much more confident in herself," she said at the Perpignan rally.
- 'Turn on the turbo' -
Melenchon is also rising strongly ahead of voting and is talking up his chances of springing a surprise, helped by a confident rally Tuesday that saw him beamed by hologram into 11 French cities.
The war in Ukraine as well as strains on the health system after two years of Covid-19 are high among voter concerns, behind the biggest priority: inflation and incomes.
The slogan "Vote!" underlines the priority for Le Pen in encouraging supporters to turn out on Sunday after high abstention rates resulted in a disappointing result for her in regional elections last June.
Greens candidate Yannick Jadot, conservative Valerie Pecresse, far-right former TV pundit Eric Zemmour and flagging Socialist nominee Anne Hidalgo also had rallies Thursday.
According to the Le Monde newspaper, Hidalgo hosted a secret dinner of Socialist grandees including ex-president Francois Hollande to discuss the party's post-election future, prompting allegations she had capitulated before the poll had even taken place.
Macron was to give an interview to the Aujourd'hui newspaper in which he is expected to continue his strategy of promising steady leadership in a time of crisis, while portraying Le Pen as a dangerous extremist.
"Our initial objective is to consolidate our lead and to prevent Marine Le Pen coming out ahead in the first round," a figure in Macron's ruling party, who asked not to be named, told AFP.
Another advisor added: "We see Marine Le Pen's dynamic and we will need to put on turbo engines for round two... It's not won until the end."
- 'Scare-mongering no longer works' -
Despite entering the campaign late after being distracted by the war in Ukraine, Macron had no scheduled public events on Thursday.
"I've acquired experience of crises, international experience. I've also learned from my mistakes," he told Le Figaro newspaper in an interview published Thursday.
He acknowledged that "results on immigration were insufficient" and that new arrivals had increased at the start of his term in 2017-2019.
A recent poll found that a slim majority of French people (51 percent) found Le Pen worrying, while 39 percent considered she had the stature of a president, up from 21 percent in 2017.
The far right leader has also been boosted by the victories of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Serbia's leader Aleksandar Vucic -- seen as sharing her political ideals -- in elections last weekend.
Le Pen laughed at the idea that she could be demonised on her third run for the presidency despite Macron's intention of attacking her as economically reckless and xenophobic.
"Scare-mongering which entails saying that unless Emmanuel Macron is re-elected, it will be a crisis, the sun will be extinguished, the sea will disappear and we'll suffer an invasion of frogs, no longer works," Le Pen told RTL.
F.Dubois--AMWN