Paris (AFP)

The president of the Ile-de-France regional council, Valérie Pécresse (ex-LR), is leading the voting intentions for the regional elections, in front of a left-wing list led by the former journalist Audrey Pulvar, according to an investigation Ifop for the Socialist Party, released Thursday.

Ms. Pécresse, supported by LR, the UDI and her Free movement! Obtains 32% of the voting intentions in the first round, ahead of Audrey Pulvar (17%), expected to lead the left list "Ile-de-France in common ".

She is also in front of the Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer (probable LREM candidate, 15%), the MEP Jordan Bardella (13%, RN), the ecologist Julien Bayou (11%) and the Insoumise Raquel Garrido (7%), according to the survey.

If a socialist-environmentalist union of EELV saw the light of day for the second round, it would follow the Pécresse list with 33% of voting intentions for the left, against 37% for the right.

For their part, LREM would obtain 16% of the voting intentions, and RN 14%, according to the Ifop poll.

For now, apart from the national secretary of EELV who has announced his desire to lead the battle to the regional in Ile-de-France, none of the other candidates has officially declared himself.

Ms. Pulvar, a former journalist recently elected and who has become deputy for sustainable food and urban agriculture to the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, is approached to lead a list of political figures and supporters of civil society, supported by socialists, communists, the radical left party and environmentalists.

The neophyte in politics recently proposed free public transport in Ile-de-France.

The proposal was mocked by his opponents on the right and on the left, considered too expensive and "demagogue" by Valérie Pécresse and described as "a false good idea" by Julien Bayou.

But it appeals to 67% of Ile-de-France residents, according to the Ifop survey.

Regional elections are due to take place in March 2021, but the Covid-19 epidemic could lead to a postponement of the poll.

Prime Minister Jean Castex on Wednesday instructed Jean-Louis Debré, former president of the Constitutional Council, to lead a mission to decide by the end of the year whether the date should be postponed or not.

The Ifop poll was conducted by online questionnaire and by telephone from October 14 to 19 with a representative sample of 1,101 people, according to the quota method (margin of error of 1.4 to 3.1 points).

© 2020 AFP