Macron crisis as Marine Le Pen ‘best placed’ to win French presidential election

Marine Le Pen 'threatening Macron in elections' says expert

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Ms Le Pen has been pointed out as the favourite by MEP Thierry Mariani – as he says she is “best placed” to win.

France will vote to elect its new president in April. The first round of polls has shown that Marine Le Pen is Mr Macron’s biggest rival at this point in the race.

Despite attempts by the efforts of hard-right rival Eric Zemmour, Ms Le Pen is holding on to her chance of overtaking Emmanuel Macron in the upcoming French presidential election.

French politician Mr Mariani extended his support to Ms Le Pen when questioned by reporters of the French magazine Boulevard Voltaire last Saturday.

He said that he remains “convinced that Marine Le Pen is the best placed to win this election” and believes that they will meet in the second round.

MEP Thierry Mariani was asked about the support by Jérôme Rivière and Gilbert Collard to far-right politician Éric Zemmour – who is also in the running.

He told Boulevard Voltaire: “I am a bit surprised, but there is nothing dramatic. I would have been more worried if they had supported other candidates! We share many things with Éric Zemmour.

“I say to Jérôme and Gilbert: ‘We’ll see you soon. Rumours and names are circulating, I don’t want to participate in this. My opponent is not Éric Zemmour, it is Macron and his clone Valérie Pécresse’.”

According to the MEP, candidates Ms Pécresse and Mr Macron now address the issues that Ms Le Pen has always focused on, such as “immigration, security, and the poor functioning of Europe”.

When questioned on whether the support for Éric Zemmour could have consequences on Ms Le Pen’s campaign, Mr Mariani said: “I refuse any attack on candidates who are close to us because, in the second round, we will have to come closer together.

“But I also have the right to have my convictions and to think that Marine Le Pen is the best prepared. She has the knowledge of the terrain that Éric Zemmour, who made some mistakes during his campaign, may lack”.

He praised Ms Le Pen’s campaign saying that “the most structured programme is that of Marine Le Pen”.

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He declared would not be supporting Mr Zemmour in presidency plans, despite saying he respects him and shares friends with him.

He confirmed that his choice in the first and second round will be for far-right candidate Ms Le Pen, saying: “If I am wrong, I will not be wrong in my choice of opponent in the second round.”.

In the interview with Boulevard Voltaire last week, he said: “We must not spoil this opportunity with rivalries. So let’s not pour fuel on the fire, let’s defend our arguments.

“One day, a President of the Republic said ‘if you come back, we’ll forget everything!’ So, on the evening of the first round, everyone must come back and we will forget everything.”

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