EMMANUEL Macron’s lead over Marine Le Pen has taken a heavy hit as France prepares to vote in the final round of the election on Sunday.
By Thomas Hunt
Ms Le Pen said: “The country Mr Macron wants is no longer France; it’s a space, a wasteland, a trading room where there are only consumers and producers.”
The latest polls were conducted prior to the announcement that defeated first round presidential candidate Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, would be Ms Le Pen’s prime minister if she wins the presidency.
Mr Dupont-Aignan’s policies are seen as less extreme than her own, despite being eurosceptic and a longstanding critic of the eurozone.
The French media reported it represented an important move to grab moderate voters and could prove a decisive decision during the election on May 7.
The presidential candidate denied that her position on the euro has changed. The former Front National leader said: “I have been calling for the transformation of the single currency to the common currency for quite a long time, so there is no contradiction in that.”
The announcement was a surprise as he had claimed he would never align with Ms Le Pen
Robert Ménard, the mayor of the town of Béziers in the south of France who was elected with Front National support, said: “It’s very good news. It proves that she has finally understood.
The Mayor has been a controversial figure but has backed Ms Le Pen
Political Science Professor Douglas Webber said: “It would be almost impossible for the EU to survive if Marine Le Pen should win the up-coming French Presidential elections, and subsequently win a referendum to withdraw France from it.”