French Presidential Runoff Race Begins... Macron's 'On-Site Campaign' VS Le Pen's 'Strategizing'

Centrist President Emmanuel Macron (right) and far-right National Rally (RN) candidate Marine Le Pen, who will face off in the runoff of the French presidential election to be held on the 24th.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Ahead of the French presidential runoff election on the 24th, centrist President Emmanuel Macron and far-right National Rally (RN) candidate Marine Le Pen, who met again after five years, immediately began a two-week campaign starting on the 11th (local time), the day after the first round of voting.

According to AP News and others, President Macron will campaign in the northern French industrial cities of Denain, Carvin, and Lens, where Le Pen's support is strong, to secure votes. Macron, who ranked first with 27.6% of the vote in the first round the day before, urged his supporters to unite, saying that nothing has been decided yet, seemingly aware of Le Pen's pursuit.

Le Pen, the "challenger" aiming to become the first far-right female president, is strengthening internal unity by holding an executive countermeasure meeting at her campaign headquarters in Paris on the same day. Le Pen ranked second with 23.4% of the vote in the first round, following President Macron. Unlike five years ago, the gap in support between the first and second place is not large, so she is expected to actively court centrist voters until the runoff. Currently, Le Pen is scheduled to visit Avignon in southern France on the 14th.

During the two-week campaign period, President Macron is expected to focus on absorbing the support base of far-left candidate Jean-Luc M?lenchon of La France Insoumise (LFI). On the 12th, Macron will visit Strasbourg and Mulhouse in eastern France, where M?lenchon performed well. M?lenchon, who appeals to left-leaning voters, ranked third with nearly 22% of the vote in the first round, showing unexpectedly strong performance. M?lenchon refused to endorse Macron in the 2017 runoff but this time has indirectly supported Macron by saying that voters should not vote for Le Pen. However, some analysts believe that this statement alone will not translate into his supporters backing Macron, and that their abstention may benefit Le Pen.

Macron and Le Pen, who will spend the crucial two weeks before the runoff, will participate in a debate broadcast live by France 2 and TF1 at 9 p.m. on the 20th. Like previous presidents who sought re-election, Macron has refused to participate in public debates with other presidential candidates before the first round of voting.

The runoff election on the 24th is expected to be a very close contest. The day before, French polling institutes Ifop predicted a 51% to 49% victory, Elabe predicted 52% to 48%, and Ipsos and Sopra Steria predicted 54% to 46% in favor of President Macron. Considering that Macron won the 2017 election against Le Pen by a margin of over 30 percentage points, the gap has significantly narrowed to single digits.