France's presidencies.. Candidates seize the last hours of an unusual election campaign

Two days before the French presidential election, candidates are using the final hours of the campaign to intensify rallies and media appearances in an effort to motivate voters in the hope of persuading undecided and potential boycotts.

After a final series of rallies on Thursday evening, the election campaign ends at midnight on Friday, Paris time (22:00 GMT).

Candidates will then be prohibited from holding public meetings, distributing leaflets and doing online advertising, and no interview, opinion poll or estimates will be published before the results are released on Sunday at 18:00 GMT.

As of Thursday afternoon, 69% of the 47.9 million electoral envelopes that include the programs of the 12 candidates have been distributed to voters, according to the Ministry of Interior.

As for the overseas provinces and regions, ie Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre, Miquelon and French Polynesia, where the elections are held on Saturday, the campaign ended at midnight yesterday.

out of the ordinary

The campaign for the first round of elections was out of the ordinary since the establishment of the Fifth Republic in 1958, as it was paralyzed by the "Covid-19" crisis and dominated by the war in Ukraine.

By causing a sharp rise in energy and food prices, the Russian military intervention in Ukraine highlighted the urgent need to address the issue that tops the French's concerns, which is purchasing power.

In this context, the vote trends reflected in the polls point to a similar scenario for 2017, when outgoing President Emmanuel Macron (Republic On the Move) and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen moved to the second round before Macron won the presidency.

But is such a scenario certain this time?

In the event of a repeat of the recent confrontation between Macron and Le Pen, the "Republican Front" that blocked the way for the candidate of the National Rally (Le Pen) may disintegrate in light of the "anti-Macaronism" current that emerged in the ranks of public opinion during the 5-year presidential term.

Le Pen, who has worked to show herself in a more moderate position, although her platform remains "radical" on the issues of immigration and state institutions, gained two points within a week, reaching 22% of the trend of votes.

As for Macron, whose campaign was limited to a minimum, he recorded a decline of the same amount to 26 percent of the vote trend, according to the latest opinion poll conducted by the Opinion Way Institute and Kia Partners, whose results were published Thursday.

shrink the difference

The difference narrows even more in the second round, as expectations indicate Macron's victory over Le Pen by 53% compared to 47%, compared to 55% compared to 45% a week ago.

Macron explained in the newspaper "Le Parisien" on Friday that the "fundamental principles" of the candidate of the National Rally "have not changed: it is a racist program that aims to cause a rift within society and it is very radical," adding, "Marine Le Pen has a false social program because she does not fund it."

As for the candidate of "Rebel France" Jean-Luc Melenchon, who comes in third place with about 16% of the vote direction, he hopes to confuse the game, calling for the adoption of a "useful vote" that will allow the left to reach the second round.

The level of the district will be one of the keys to interpreting the election results, at a time when it is expected to reach or even exceed the record percentage recorded in 2002 of 28.4% (22.2% in 2017).

Latest gatherings

In an effort to maintain a media presence until the last minute, Macron gave an interview to RTL radio early Friday morning, and is expected to give a second interview at 19:00 to the online news outlet Prut, which is followed by a young audience.

Also, Marine Le Pen from Perpignan attended a morning program on France Info radio, before visiting the Monument to the Missing French in Algeria in the city.

In the right-wing camp, Valerie Pecresse ("Republicans"), who is competing with far-right candidate Eric Zemmour with about 9% of the vote, heads to the city of Kieran in southern France, where she meets the owners of vineyards.

This comes as Nicolas Dupont-Aignan ("Rise up France" 2%) is making a move at a toll-paying center in Saint-Arnaud, in the Paris suburbs, and a visit near Paris to the Mont Valerian monument, which honors French fighters and fighters in World War II.

For his part, the environmental candidate Yannick Gadeau (5%) will visit the city of Lyon in central eastern France, while the communist Fabien Roussel (5%) is concluding his campaign in Paris.

Finally, the "New Anti-Capitalist Party" candidate Philippe Bhutto and the "Labour Struggle" candidate Nathalie Artaud (1% each) will hold their last election rallies in Grenoble (Central-East) and Rouen (North), respectively.