French Presidential Election: Round One

French presidential elections are held in two rounds — unless one candidate receives over 50% of the vote in round one.

The two leading vote-getters in round one compete for France’s top political position.

On Sunday, 11 aspirants are competing against incumbent Macron in round one of France’s presidential election.

They include:

Republican candidate Valerie Pecresse

Right-wing Reconquete Party aspirant Eric Zemmour

Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel 

Left-wing politician Jean-Luc Melenchon

Right-wing Arise Party aspirant Nicolas Dupont-Aignan

French Greens Yannick Jadot

Paris mayor Nicolas Hidalgo

Left-wing Workers Struggle Party Nathalie Arthaud

Left-wing politician Philippe Poutou

MP Jean Lassalle, and

Former National Rally president/ current National Assembly member Marine Le Pen.

In April 2017, polls ahead of round-one voting showed Le Pen slightly ahead of her main rivals in a race too close to call.

In round-two voting, Macron handily defeated her in a process believed by some to have been rigged in his favor. 

Open, free and fair elections are anathema in the US/West — time and again manipulated to prevent non-establishment candidates from attaining high office.

Five years ago in France was no exception to the rule.

Many Le Pen ballots reportedly were uncounted or destroyed.

Will history repeat this time around?

Are things rigged again for Macron — regardless of the popular will in round two voting?

Is he assured of winning again in similar fashion to how US presidential election 2020 was stolen.

Trump won. Biden lost. His double sits in the oval office, another example of fantasy US democracy — the real thing virtually banned throughout the West.

Former Rothschild banker, economy minister Macron’s honeymoon was short-lived post-election. 

His support plunged from 62 – 36% two weeks after being selected as president, the lowest ever approval rating for a French leader so early after taking office.

Ahead of Sunday’s election, polls show Macron’s approval at between 35 and 43%.

He and Le Pen are highly favored to advance to round two voting on April 24.

In recent weeks, Le Pen gained increased support at the expense of her two main right-wing rivals, Pecresse and Zemmour.

While at this time her chances of defeating Macron greatly improved over five years ago, never underestimate the chance of history repeating to keep establishment figure Macron in power.

Yet days earlier, Le Monde said Le Pen is “surging at just the right time.”

Her platform calls for cutting taxes on energy, eliminating it for essentials, raising base pensions at a time of soaring inflation, and scraping the income tax for workers under-age 30.

She also supports French laws over EU legislation when both conflict with each other.

If Macron wins reelection, he’ll be the first two-term French president since Jacques Chirac in 2002.

With the incumbent remaining in office, dirty business as usual will continue as official French policy like most always before.

A neoliberal, pro-war hardliner, he’s dismissive of peace, equity, justice and rule of law as it should be.

He one-sidedly backs monied interests over popular rights and the general welfare.

A bourgeoisie elitist cut from the same cloth as most other Western officials in high places, there’s nothing redeeming about him.

According to polls, he’s expected to win little more than one-fourth of support in round one voting, Le Pen expected to finish a close second.

On Sunday, London’s Daily Mail reported the following:

France’s “presidential election race narrow(ed) as a shock poll shows (a) tidal wave of support for…Le Pen among…voters aged-18 to 24.”

Campaigning on bread and butter/cost of living issues won her increased popularity.

A new YouGov poll showed that 56% of voters in the above age group back Le Pen.

Responding to critics, she’s “not a racist (sic),” she said.

With voting ongoing in round one, Le Pen might defeat Macron in a free, fair and open second round.

Based on what happened five years ago, it’ll highly be likely otherwise to maintain establishment control in France — like elsewhere throughout the West.