Emmanuel Macron warns: I may lose the presidential election

Five years ago, Macron was one Underdog, eA new politician – by French standards – a young politician who defied the traditional right-left scale and promised a complete renewal of politics.

For many French, it is now the epitome of the institution. When Macron held his first and perhaps only election rally on Saturday night, he warned that he could therefore lose in the presidential election:

– Do not believe the self-proclaimed experts and pollsters who claim that it is impossible, unimaginable, that we lose, that the election has already won – that “everything will be fine.” Just look at Brexit, and at the many other elections where a certain outcome seemed totally unlikely, but still happened.

With one week left to the first round of the election, Macron now has 26 per cent in the latest Ipsos election Measure. It has returned to the levels it was in before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, right-wing nationalists Marine Le Pen (21 percent), as well as left-wing radical Jean-Luc Mélenchon (15.5 percent) are on the rise.

The two leading candidates go into a second, decisive round that will take place on April 24. If Le Pen were set against Macron in it, today she would receive between 45 and 47 percent of the vote, according to various polls. Clearly more than the 33.9 percent it received in 2017.

The danger from extremism is greater now than it was a few months or years ago, Macron told up to 30,000 spectators in Europe’s largest indoor arena in La Défense, Paris.

Everything was organized down to the smallest detail: electric music, blazing fire and professionally produced video editing on the big screens gave a modern, albeit somewhat “American” feel to the campaign.

So far Macron’s meeting has been a classic, as we remember them from the election campaign in 2017. But the promising “startup” atmosphere – or a growing grassroots movement – that existed at the time around Macron didn’t really happen this time around.

Hundreds of dignitaries from the country The political elite was in place, with Prime Minister Jan Castex and former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe at the helm – both with backgrounds in the right-wing Republican Party.

Several bodyguards with shells in their ears move between rows of chairs.

– Obviously, a lot has happened since 2017, says Richard Pordenion, who has been part of Macron’s movement since the beginning.

– He’s moved to the right, but mostly for tactical reasons, I think. What separates him from both the right and the left is that he still focuses on getting things done — rather than on ideology, says Richard Pordenion.

This practical side of Macron also appeals to 54-year-old Jeanne Vaillant. She works for a cruise company, and has never attended an election meeting before.

Macron was a good president, I think. At the beginning of the epidemic there were quite a few tenders, a lack of mouth protection etc – but this was the case almost all over Europe. Macron has done well, and has much more youthful charisma and energy than the other candidates, says Jeanne Vaillant.

Appearing as a statesman He is one of Macron’s great assets – something other candidates don’t come close to.

I also commend the way he has handled the economy during the pandemic. Massive support measures targeted businesses and workers, contributing to a rapid recovery and that France, despite the crisis, has created one million new jobs since 2017, according to Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire.

Company director Awa Sagna praises Macron’s investments in start-ups:

I received government support to launch a clothing manufacturing business. It creates jobs in both France and Senegal. Macron has shown that he understands the need for more such cooperation if we are to be able to reduce irregular migration, and put an end to the tragedies in the Mediterranean, Awa Sagna says.

Brice Tinturier, president of France’s Ipsos Institute of Opinion, says Macron’s electors are often financially well off and happy with their lives.

Above all, they believe the future will be better. Even some Labor voters who think things are going right vote for Macron. The big difference from 2017, when Macron attracted voters from both the left and the right, is that he is now attracting mainly former right-wing voters, Brice Tintorier told DN.

Macron does not charge anything up front. He knows that Sunday’s election can be decided by who actually goes to the polls: the French, satisfied or dissatisfied.

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