With just days to go until the French Presidential election, Emmanuel Macron is edging towards the Élysée Palace, but the front runner still faces challenges ahead of Sunday’s second round vote.
The 39-year-old independent centrist has led a remarkable campaign, defying the traditional mainstream parties courtesy of his “En Marche!” movement.
For many, however, the campaign has become less about backing Macron and instead voting against his far-right National Front rival, Marine Le Pen.
Dominic Thomas, professor of French and Francophone Studies at UCLA, believes the electorate faces a similar scenario to 2002 when Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the National Front and Marine’s father, made it through to the second round.
On that occasion, the country banded together to vote for Jacques Chirac and ensure that the far-right candidate was crushed.
But Thomas says a “downtrodden” electorate is now facing a vote in which it is opposing Le Pen rather than throwing its support behind Macron.
“The problem is, yet again, like in 2002, the French electorate is being morally blackmailed, not so much to vote for a Macron they may really be fond of but against Le Pen,” he said.
“There’s a risk there that undermines the electoral process in terms of the final outcome.”
The 39-year-old presidential candidate has been endorsed by current President Francois Hollande, Republican candidate Francois Fillon and the Socialist Party’s Benoit Hamon, but he is not universally liked.
Often seen as the “elite”, he’s viewed as being part of the establishment and out of touch with the public.
A former economy minister who made his millions as an investment banker, Macron has been attacked from both the left and the right for his perceived arrogance.
Thomas says that while Macron, a pro-EU, pro-integration candidate, is likely to win the election, he will not be riding a wave of universal popularity.
Read more: CNN
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