Paris, SAEDNEWS: Polling stations, which opened at 0600 GMT, will remain open for 12 hours after France's overseas territories already voted Saturday to take account of the time difference, starting with the tiny island of Saint Pierre and Miquelon off the coast of Canada and then territories in the Caribbean followed by French Pacific islands.
No French president has ever won by an outright majority since 1958 except Jacques Chirac in 2002 who was the only to be reelected. If no candidate wins 50% of votes in the first round, the two contenders with the most votes will proceed to a run-off two weeks later, on Sunday April 24.
Sunday’s vote will determine who runs the European Union’s second-largest economy as the war in Ukraine rages on the bloc’s doorstep. France is the only country in European Union with a UN Security Council veto and its sole nuclear power.
The cost of living is among the top issues for the French electorate this year. Faced with the economic fallout of the pandemic, high energy prices and the war in Ukraine, French voters aren’t facing the election many expected.
Analysts say that a majority of French people feel the 2022 presidential election campaign has been of poor quality. Voters have complained of a lack of new political ideas or vision, and few solutions to their problems.
Polls predict that Macron will lead Le Pen by a handful of percentage points in round one, with the top two going through to a second round vote on April 24.
Emmanuel Macron is campaigning to win a second term, promising to continue to lower taxes, raise the pension age to 65, and get France to full employment after decades of mass joblessness. He entered the campaign late, focusing instead on diplomacy with Russian President Vladimir Putin and an unpopular plan to increase the retirement age.
Le Pen, 53, has focused on the cost-of-living crisis. She is also campaigning to ban the Muslim head-scarf from all public places, as part of her anti-immigration program. Her victory would however be seen as a victory for right-wing populism and send shock-waves across Europe and markets.
Macron and Le Pen agree the outcome is wide open. “Everything is possible,” Le Pen told supporters on Thursday, while earlier in the week Macron warned his followers not to discount a Le Pen win.
The hard-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon is also rising in the polls, promising to freeze prices and overhaul the presidential system. His supporters have called on left-wing voters of all stripes to switch to their candidate from Macron and send Mélenchon into the runoff.
Policies on Islam and Muslims are one of the main issues raised in the election campaigns by all candidates, as France is home to Europe’s largest Muslim community. Under Macron government, Islam has come to be seen by most French citizens as an existential threat to their “civilization”, “traditions” and “values”.
Dismantling French laicite itself, the Macron regime is replacing it with a new type of authoritarian, repressive management of Muslims and their religion. In France's recent history, probably no presidential campaign (or pre-campaign) will have done more damage to the future of Muslims in France than the recent (Source: IRNA).
Emanuel Macron, Shame on You!
