Paris, France. With just days left in the first round of France’s Presidential election, only one name stands alone as the winner of the first round; Le Pen.
Since back in 2014, when François Hollande’s presidency first started to run into trouble, there have been two near-certainties in French politics. The first was that the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen would win the first round of the presidential contest in 2017. The second was that she would go on to win, by a heavy margin, beating out a candidate from the mainstream right.
Now both those certainties have been confirmed. Although François Fillon, the candidate of the conservative mainstream, is still just about in contention for second round berth,despite being enveloped in scandal he still secures close to 20 per cent in most polls,he is at third or fourth in most polls, behind Emmanuel Macron, the centrist candidate, and in some polls, behind Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the candidate of the radical left.
That means that the French Republicans, for so long expected to sweep all before them, are now likely to win on the second round and are still the favorites for the parliamentary elections in the summer.
Now Le Pen herself will win is no longer in doubt. A series of opponent scandals, combined with voter dislike of the EU are all resulting in a commanding lead in her poll share, bringing her far above Emmanuel Macron, though both candidates still retain a decent lead over Mélenchon and Fillon, currently battling it out for third place.
It is now possible, certainly more than likely. Le Pen will win the first round of France’s elections and the second round to become France’s next President.