Emmanuel Macron, the centrist French presidential contender, struggled to get his campaign back on track on Saturday after losing his poll lead over controversial remarks on France’s colonial record and gay marriage, reports The Telegraph.
Mr Macron had overtaken François Fillon, the conservative candidate and former favourite embroiled in a corruption scandal, but the latest polls indicate that the two candidates are now neck-and-neck.
Mr Macron provoked outrage on the Right by describing colonial rule as a “crime against humanity” during a visit to Algeria, once the jewel in France’s imperial crown.
The 39-year-old independent, a relative political newcomer, then infuriated leftwing supporters by trying to reach out to rightwingers who opposed gay marriage, saying they had been stigmatised and “humiliated” under President Hollande’s socialist government.
Protesters heckled Mr Macron in the south of France, home to a large number of 'pieds noirs’ — former settlers who left Algeria after independence, and their descendants. Many support Marine Le Pen, who along with Mr Fillon rounded on Mr Macron, accusing him of trying to ingratiate himself with voters of immigrant origin.
Mr Macron sought to defend himself by saying said he had not meant “to say that those who were living in Algeria and who served in the French army were guilty of crimes against humanity, as the French state was solely responsible.”
According to an OpinionWay poll, Mr Macron and Mr Fillon ended the week level-pegging on 20 percent, with both men trailing Ms Le Pen, on 26 per cent.
An IFOP survey indicated a wider gap, with Mr Macron and Mr Fillon both on 18.5 percent. Ms Le Pen is expected to win the first-round vote in April but polls suggest she will be defeated by whichever candidate goes through to the decisive second round runoff the following month.