Presidential: 467,000 registered for the "popular primary", Le Pen counterattacks

Europe 1 with AFP 06:41, January 24, 2022

The "popular primary", one of the symptoms of the difficulties of the left in the presidential campaign, took shape on Sunday, with a total of 467,000 registered, at the start of a week which will see all the candidates concretely launch their race to sponsorships.

Exactly eleven weeks before the first round, and in the absence of major meetings, Yannick Jadot (EELV), Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI), Fabien Roussel (PCF), Valérie Pécresse (LR), Éric Zemmour (Reconquest) and Marine Le Pen (RN) intervened on the various radio and TV sets throughout the day.

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In a meeting on Saturday in Cannes in front of 4,000 people, Éric Zemmour highlighted his latest recruit from the National Rally, MEP Gilbert Collard.

The arrival of this 73-year-old media lawyer, who was relatively marginalized in the RN, feeds the speech of the candidate Zemmour on the union of the "right-wing people" which, according to him, he would be the only one to be able to achieve and which would be the key to a power that has so far been denied to Ms. Le Pen.

Marine Le Pen responded strongly to the initiative, castigating "a drift of mercenaries" during Sunday in politics on France 3.

Primary disqualified

"For people who explain to you all day that they are going to save France, not being able to pick up their phone to tell the person who got you elected, 'I made the decision to go to a competitor ' in the middle of the presidential campaign, moreover, it's really deplorable", she added, calling on Gilbert Collard to resign from his parliamentary mandate. Marine Le Pen also says she is convinced that "Eric Zemmour's role is to prevent me from reaching the second round and not to be in the second round itself".

On the left, the "popular primary", disqualified by the main left-wing candidates it intends to decide between, claimed Sunday evening a total of 467,000 registered.

They will be invited to vote from January 27 to 30 to designate, among seven personalities from the left, the one who will be supported.

This figure is significantly higher than those of the environmental primary in September (122,000 registered) and the Republican Congress in early December (nearly 140,000). 

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But three of the seven candidates - Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Yannick Jadot and the socialist Anne Hidalgo - refused in advance to recognize the result of the vote, and find themselves involved in the ballot despite themselves.

They each requested that their names be removed from the list of candidates.

The former Keeper of the Seals Christiane Taubira, declared a candidate only a week ago, and three lesser candidates have meanwhile promised to comply with the results.

According to an Ipsos-Sopra Steria poll on Saturday for Le Monde, the Jean Jaurès Foundation and Cevipof, the left would be rolled on April 10 with Jean-Luc Mélenchon at 8%, Yannick Jadot at 7%, Christiane Taubira at 5% and Anne Hidalgo at 3.5%.

Open secret

According to the same survey, outgoing Emmanuel Macron continues to dominate voting intentions.

He would be well ahead of the first round with 25%, ahead of Valérie Pécresse (LR) and Marine Le Pen (RN) tied at 15.5%.

In the second round, Emmanuel Macron would obtain 54% of the votes against Ms. Pécresse (46%), and 57% against Marine Le Pen (43%).

Emmanuel Macron will spend two days in Limousin on Monday and Tuesday to present his results on subjects such as white areas, the return of public services or medical deserts, all sensitive points in the rural world as the presidential election approaches.

According to a relative, he should not, on the other hand, officially lift the open secret of his candidacy on this occasion.

Finally, for all the candidates the week which opens should be that of the real kick-off of their quest for sponsorships, with the expected publication on Wednesday of the decree convening voters for the two rounds of April 10 and 24.

At each presidential election, the hunt for the 500 signatures of elected officials needed to compete is difficult for the majority of candidates, heavily consuming activists' time, and sometimes undecided until the deadline, set this year by the Constitutional Council on 4 March at 6 p.m. sharp.

Éric Zemmour, Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon notably mentioned their difficulties in obtaining their sponsorships.