Marine Le Pen

Opinion polls ordered by Macron belie claim he was elected on pension reform platform

France

The strong opposition to Emmanuel Macron’s proposed reform of the pension system, notably raising for most people the age of retirement on full pension rights from 62 to 64, continued on Wednesday, with another day of nationwide protests, the eighth in succession. As the reform reaches its final passage in parliament, the French president and his government insist that the reform was at the centre of his manifesto for re-election last year, and was therefore supported and legitimized by the electorate. But Mediapart can reveal that a series of opinion polls commissioned by Macron’s election campaign team belie the claim. Christophe Gueugneau and Antton Rouget report.

France's far-right RN party picks Jordan Bardella to replace Le Pen

France — Link

Election of the 27-year-old as president of Rassemblement National will leave Marine Le Pen to focus instead on leading the party's group in parliament.

France's far-right RN party to choose Le Pen's successor

France

France’s far-right Rassemblement National party, the former Front National, is to choose its next president in November, replacing Marine Le Pen who is standing down after 11 years at the helm of the party founded by her father. The two candidates for her succession are her former partner and mayor of Perpignan, Louis Aliot, 52, and the caretaker party president, Jordan Bardella, 27, who officialised his bid this week. Both have been keen to reassure the party of their loyalty to Le Pen and, as Christophe Gueugneau reports, whichever one the party chooses, it will remain firmly under her grip.

How Macron became the far-right's useful idiot

France — Opinion

By playing at being the sorcerer's apprentice and pitching himself as the only acceptable option between the radical Left and the far-right, Emmanuel Macron has allowed Rassemblement National to become a major force within the National Assembly, argues Ellen Salvi in this opinion article. Rather than fighting against the racist and xenophobic ideas of Marine Le Pen's party, she writes, he ended up giving them a helping hand out of sheer political cynicism. Following Sunday's legislative elections the far-right party will have 89 MPs in the new National Assembly.

The contours of France's new political landscape

France — Analysis

An analysis of the final results of last Sunday's presidential election shows the extent to which Emmanuel Macron's electoral strategy paid off handsomely, while at the same time indicating that support for the far-right is now firmly entrenched across the country. It is now abundantly clear that France has entered a new political era. But the results also highlight the risk that whole sections of the population could be left stranded without proper political representation for years to come. Fabien Escalona and Donatien Huet report.

Macron presides over the ruins

France — Analysis

The strategy that Emmanuel Macron deployed for five years has paid handsome dividends electorally, as shown by his win over Marine Le Pen with around 58% of the vote. But in democratic terms that strategy has produced nothing but failure. As Ellen Salvi reports in the aftermath of the president's re-election, the country's divisions have never been so deep.

French presidential election 2022: the result and reactions

France

Emmanuel Macron has been re-elected as president of France. In the second and decisive round of the French presidential election that took place this Sunday, Macron beat off the challenge from his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen. Initial projections gave him a winning margin of close to 58% to around 42%. His victory – by a large margin though slimmer than his win against the same candidate in 2017 – means that the centre-right Macron becomes the first French president to win a second term since Jacques Chirac in 2002. The outcome has been greeted with relief across Europe and around the world, for a Le Pen victory would have had profound implications for France's role in both the European Union and NATO. Macron, who had been the favourite in the polls to win, will begin his second term on May 13th. Attention is already switching to the key Parliamentary elections in June which will determine the nature of Macron's new government. Find out how the election night unfolded with our live coverage of the events and reaction here. Reporting by Michael Streeter and Graham Tearse.

Battle between Macron and Le Pen as France votes for its next president

France — Link

A great deal of attention will be placed on the turnout this time around, with plenty of speculation that voters will stay away because they don't particularly like either candidate.

Polls show Macron ahead of Le Pen as he warns of post-Trump ‘hangover’

France — Link

Macron compared France's choice in Sunday's presidential runoff to that of US voters before they elected Donald Trump into the White House, and warned his current polling lead was no guarantee of victory.

Macron cements French presidential frontrunner status after debate

France — Link

Some 59% of viewers found the sitting president to have been the most convincing in the long TV debate than his rival Marine Le Pen, according to a snap poll for BFM TV. 

Macron and Le Pen go head-to-head in French presidential debate

France — Link

The far-right's Le Pen won lots to speak first and chose to focus on cost of living, vetoing the broadcaster’s preference to address Ukraine.

Voting against Le Pen: a painful necessity to ward off the horror of the far-right

France — Opinion

The far-right has never been so close to power. And given that it is the worst enemy of equality, rights and freedom, voting against its candidate on Sunday April 24th is the only anti-fascist option in the French presidential election, writes Mediapart’s publishing editor Edwy Plenel in this op-ed article. But, he says, it will be a painful act, because the other name on the ballot paper is that of the person who is chiefly responsible for this catastrophe: Emmanuel Macron.

EU probe accuses Marine Le Pen of 137,000-euro fraud of public funds

International — Investigation

A report by the European Union’s anti-fraud agency OLAF, now passed on to the French public prosecution services, accuses Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate who will face Emmanuel Macron in this month’s presidential election final round, of the fraudulent misuse of 137,000 euros of public funds she received from the European Parliament when she was an MEP, Mediapart can reveal. Other individuals close to her are also accused by OLAF of defrauding the parliament. Marine Turchi and Fabrice Arfi report.

Presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen's struggle for credibility

France — Analysis

As far-right leader Marine Le Pen approaches what is predicted will be a tightly fought duel with Emmanuel Macron in the April 24th final round of France’s presidential elections, the credibility of her capacity to govern is under heightened scrutiny, not least over her ability to form a government. Lucie Delaporte reports.

How a Le Pen election victory could affect war in Ukraine

International — Link

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, who will face incumbent Emmanuel Macron in a final round of the elections on April 24th, has close ties to the Kremlin while her party has received significant funding from Russian banks, wants France to leave NATO, seeks to weakenn the EU, and is opposed to sanctions against Russian oil and gas exports.