A tight race between Macron and Le Pen
Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen have made it through to the second and final round of the French presidential election on April 24th, after winning 27.6% and 23.4% of the vote respectively in Sunday’s first round.
While Macron had been the pollsters’ clear favourite for months, the last few weeks of the campaign have seen Le Pen’s steady rise become a surge, with some surveys now suggesting that she could even become the next French president.
From afar, this may look like a re-run of 2017. However, the context in France is now entirely different, with Macron weakened after five years in power and a better prepared Le Pen in an altogether stronger position. First polls show a close duel with 51-54% for Macron and 46-49% for Le Pen.
Brunswick’s Paris office analyses the stakes of the upcoming run-off and offers some clues about what the first months of a Le Pen presidency could look like.