‘French far-right party gains lead before EU parliament vote’

An Ifop poll published on Sunday showed that for the first time in a poll of voting intentions for the May 2019 European Parliament elections, the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) — led by Marine Le Pen — had jumped ahead of Macron’s La République en marche (LREM).

The Ifop poll asked nearly 1,000 French people on Oct 30-31 who they would vote for if the European Parliament elections were to be held the next Sunday.

The far-right RN rose to 21 percent of the voting intentions compared to its 17-percent rating at the end of August, while Macron’s party gained 19 percent compared to the 20 percent it had gained back then.

Together with the seven-percent score of Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, and one percent each for “Frexit” parties led by former Le Pen associate Florian Philippot and Francois Asselineau, far-right parties won a combined 30 percent of voting intentions, up from a combined 25 percent at the end of August.

An Odoxa-Dentsu poll released mid-September showed that Macron and Le Pen’s parties were neck-and-neck at around 21 percent.
In an Ifop poll in May, the LREM was seen winning 27 percent of the European Parliament votes, well ahead of the far right’s 17 percent.

The European Parliament elections are shaping up to be a major battle between centrist, pro-EU parties like Macron’s LREM and far-right formations that oppose immigration and the EU’s centralized policies.

The elections determine who leads the major European Union (EU) institutions, including the European Commission, the bloc’s civil service, and are also important as an indicator of sentiments among the EU’s 500 million people.

A YouGov poll published last week indicated that Macron’s popularity had plunged to its lowest level since his 2017 presidential win, with only 21 percent of those polled saying they approved of his government’s performance.

Unemployment, taxes, and rising fuel prices remain the main reasons for public dissatisfaction with Macron’s government, which is also partially attributed to the abrupt departure of two high-profile ministers and a summer scandal involving one of the president’s bodyguards.