Emmanuel Macron has urged voters to turn out on Sunday for the first round of the French presidential election, stressing the importance of giving him a clear mandate, reports The Guardian.
Interviewed on morning radio, the president said he was surprised by the increasing tendency of people to ask what point there was in voting.
“Is it useful? Yes. If I hadn’t had a real mandate five years ago I couldn’t have done what I have done. Only the vote gives that legitimacy,” he told France Inter.
“Many people sign up to causes, petitions, movements … but don’t necessarily vote. Causes are important … but the profound changes we can make to society come when we vote.”
Six days from the first round, which will select a final two candidates, polls are still suggesting Macron is favourite to win the first round and face Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally in the runoff on April 24th, a repeat of 2017.
However, with Le Pen closing the first-round gap, at 22% against Macron’s 28.5% and the far-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon seven points behind her, political analysts and pollsters have said that the result is far from a foregone conclusion. Support for all far-right candidates is now running at about 35%.