They hold part of the destiny of the ballot in their hands. The 7,714,574 voters who chose Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Sunday, April 10, are the subject of a diligent court on the part of the teams of the two qualified for the second round of the presidential election. In the camp of Emmanuel Macron as in that of Marine Le Pen, we want to believe that this electorate can constitute part of the reserve of votes which will allow access to the Elysée on the evening of Sunday April 24.
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As the campaign between the two rounds begins, franceinfo tells how the two finalists are trying to put a helm on the left to seduce the voters who voted for the candidate of La France insoumise.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon may have repeated four times to his supporters not to “not give a single voice to Madame Le Pen”the candidate of the National Rally does not despair of convincing the fringe of the rebellious electorate most opposed to Emmanuel Macron to slip a ballot from the far right into the ballot box.
At the microphone of France Inter on Tuesday, Marine Le Pen castigated the “treason” by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, whose “voters expect protection”. Gold, “by suggesting that Emmanuel Macron must be re-elected, he is depriving them of any ability to be protected”she argued, targeting the liberal measures of the program of the outgoing president.
An argument relayed by his staff. RN vice-president Louis Aliot argued on BFMTV that during the first-round campaign, the Mélenchonist electorate “was mobilized against” Emanuel Macron.
“Unless these people are suicidal, I don’t see why they would turn to Mr. Macron en masse”
Louis Aliot, vice-president of the National Rallyon BFMTV
Marine Le Pen also intends to convince supporters of Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the field of ideas. To a voter who questioned her on France Inter, the candidate of the National Rally said she wished the “convince by talking about democracy”shelling out some of its institutional measures also carried by the left-wing candidate, such as the citizens’ initiative referendum or full proportional representation for legislative elections.
Marine Le Pen (@MLP_official) to a voter of Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the 1st round: “I am probably the most respectful of democracy and the most attentive to individual freedoms.” The candidate evokes the RIC and the proportional. #le79Inter #Presidential2022 pic.twitter.com/cX0x3oOrjD
– France Inter (@franceinter) April 12, 2022
The far-right candidate also focused in her response on themes marked on the left, such as the“attachment to the public service”the “teacher protection” and the “purchasing power”.
“I want to focus on making life easier for the most vulnerable.”
Marine Le Pen, candidate for the National Rallyon France Inter
This strategy is also reflected in the field. Monday in Yonne, on the occasion of her first trip between the two towers, she insisted on her proposal to abolish VAT for 100 basic food products – where Jean-Luc Mélenchon proposed the blocking of prices of goods and basic necessities. Tuesday, in Eure, she held a press conference devoted to “democracy and the exercise of power”. The opportunity to insist on its points of convergence with the rebellious candidate.
On the side of the outgoing president also, the calls of the foot to the mélenchonistes voters were not long in coming. Barely installed on the set of France 2, Sunday evening, Marlène Schiappa summed up the issue: “Now, a new stage begins until the second round. It will be up to us to convince those who voted for other candidates, for Jean-Luc Mélenchon in particular.” The minister responsible for citizenshipwho affirms at will that she is “from the left”then focused on the social measures of the candidate of La République en Marche, such as the automatic payment of social aid to beneficiaries who are entitled to it or the indexation of pensions to the level of inflation.
A little later, on the set of LCI, she moved the debate to the field of “values”. For Marlène Schiappa, Macronist and Melenchonist voters can “find themselves on the question of women’s rights, on the question of human rights, the right of asylum”.
During his first trip from the between-two-rounds to Denain, where the RN candidate won 41% of the vote on Sunday, Emmanuel Macron also sent signals to left-wing voters. In addition to the mention of an exchange by SMS with Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the outgoing president especially made an unexpected concession on one of the most controversial points of his program: the postponement of the legal retirement age to 65 years.
“I am ready to move the relationship to time and say that we do not necessarily make a reform until 2030 if I feel too much anxiety among people. The 65 years are not a dogma.”
Emmanuel Macron, candidate for La République en Marcheon BFMTV
For his second day of the campaign between two rounds, Tuesday, the outgoing president stopped in Mulhouse, where Jean-Luc Mélenchon came out on top in the first round with 36% of the vote. Here again, pension reform occupied a good part of his discussions. Supporters of the leader of La France insoumise also asked him to account for his record in the fight against poverty. Emmanuel Macron recalled having increased the minimum old age and wanting to bring the minimum pension to 1,100 euros. Above all, he reiterated his desire to make the calculation and payment of aid automatic, as he did for the collection of taxes. Will this be enough to convince an electorate he cannot do without to access a new five-year term?