French head of state Emmanuel Macron will face 11 candidates in the presidential election on April 10, in a context rocked by the war in Ukraine which strengthens his position as favorite.
On Monday, Mr. Macron, who is seeking his second term, will make his first trip as a candidate to the Paris region, to Poissy, for “a conversation with the inhabitants” at the end of the afternoon.
He also received local elected officials and supporters at his campaign headquarters in Paris on Monday, 34 days before the first round of the election.
Mr. Macron, 44, formalized his candidacy on Thursday, via a letter to the French.
The polls give him a clear lead in the first round and a winner in the second, scheduled for April 24.
He has jumped in recent days in voting intentions, thanks to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has reinforced his stature as he multiplies diplomatic contacts, according to analysts.
According to an Ipsos-Sopra-Steria poll, published on Saturday, Mr. Macron has gained four points in one week, passing above the 30% threshold (at 30.5%), while 90% of those questioned say they are worried. of the war in Ukraine.
Another poll, conducted by BVA, published on Friday, showed a jump of 5 points in 15 days, to reach 29% in the first round, far ahead of the following candidates.
The study attributes these developments to the “consequences of international events”. In the midst of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, “Emmanuel Macron capitalizes on his triple status as head of state, protector of the French and their values, head of the armies and head of diplomacy”.
Mr. Macron spoke again on Sunday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, demanding that Moscow “respect international humanitarian law, the protection of civilian populations and the delivery of aid”, according to the Elysee.
And he was to meet with US President Joe Biden on Monday, before multiple diplomatic meetings culminating Thursday and Friday in Versailles for a European summit.
“Ukraine is striking people’s minds, tumbling through this political landscape, all of this is causing increased interest in the presidential campaign”, noted Ipsos Deputy CEO Brice Teinturier on the LCI television channel, stressing however that this “interest does not relate to the candidates’ proposals.
“Do not evade” campaign
The president warned that he would not be able to campaign as he would have “desired”.
But “the countryside I do not want to elude it”, he affirmed in front of his troops Monday, by evoking three major sites of his project: school, health and institutions.
According to the boss of his party La République en Marche (LREM) Stanislas Guerini, he will take advantage of “all the interstices” of the international agenda “to meet the French”.
His opponents are forced to position themselves, not without contortions.
Faced with strong criticism for his pro-Russian positions, the leader of the radical left Jean-Luc Mélenchon said “stop the invasion of Ukraine”, during a meeting on Sunday in Lyon (south-east). He also pleaded for a “non-aligned” France which “does not accept a world order in which there would be NATO on one side and a Russian bloc on the other” and Chinese.
This earned him the wrath of the environmental candidate Yannick Jadot who attacked the “indulgence” of Mr. Mélenchon and his “capitulation” vis-à-vis Putin.
Mr. Mélenchon leads the voting intentions on the left, which is extremely divided with also the candidacies of Yannick Jadot, Anne Hidalgo (Socialist Party), Fabien Roussel (Communist Party), Nathalie Arthaud and Philippe Poutou (extreme left).
On the right, Mr. Macron’s main opponent is the president of the Ile-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse.
The extreme right presents itself on its side with two candidates, Marine Le Pen and Éric Zemmour.
The former columnist and journalist, who received support on Sunday from Marion Maréchal, the niece of Marine Le Pen, is also taken to task for his pro-Russian tropism.
His remarks on the reception of Ukrainian refugees in Poland rather than in France also caused a stir, including in his entourage.
Among the twelve other personalities whose candidacy was validated by the Constitutional Council on Monday, are Jean Lassalle (Resist!) and Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (Debout France).