Macron's Challengers In France's 2022 Polls

Macron's challengers in France's 2022 polls

Paris, May 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th May, 2021 ) :In a year from now, France will know who will rule the country with the keys to the Elysee Palace from 2022-2027 after two rounds of presidential elections.

President Emmanuel Macron has yet to declare that he will stand for a second mandate but is widely expected to do so, against his main rival far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

Should they meet in the April-May run-off second round, Macron remains favourite to beat Le Pen in a repeat of 2017.

But such conclusions are not foregone and there could be unexpected developments, with not all candidates declared and uncertainty over the main right-wing hopeful.

Here AFP looks at the main contenders.

- Emmanuel Macron Centrist Macron came to power promising radical reform but his ambitions have been blocked by the yellow vest anti-inequality protests, strikes over pension reforms and the pandemic.

It would be a massive shock if Macron were not to stand and seek to implement his vision in a second mandate.

In a December interview he left open the possibility of not running, saying in his last year he might have to implement policies that would render a candidacy impossible.

But he told the French regional press last month: "I go to bed with my doubts and wake up with renewed convictions. It would be very untimely to tell you about my personal ambitions." - Marine Le Pen The far-right National Rally (RN) leader has already thrown her hat in the ring and will be setting her sights higher than her 2017 performance when she made it to the run-off second round but was trounced by Macron.

Macron appears to have highlighted Le Pen as his main rival, shifting his own policies to the right in a bid to outflank her. It also remains to be seen if her campaign can rattle the president after a disastrous debate showing in 2017.

- Xavier Bertrand The main candidate to have declared on the traditional right is Bertrand, a heavyweight former minister who now heads a big region in northern France.

He has said he won't be standing on behalf of the main right-wing faction The Republicans (LR), who are reeling after tactics deployed by Macron in regional elections that prompted defections.

"I am completely determined. Given the current situation in France, I believe it to be my duty," he told Le Point magazine in April while announcing his candidacy.

- Michel Barnier Barnier, the EU's former Brexit negotiator, has not yet confirmed an intention to stand as another right-wing candidate but in an April interview he dropped a heavy hint he might.

"I'm convinced that we need to restore calm to France," he said.

Barnier won Europe-wide admiration for his deft handling of the difficult Brexit talks although it remains to be seen if he could transfer these skills to the rough-and-tumble of a campaign.

- Edouard Philippe Macron's first prime minister Philippe, jettisoned last year after reportedly becoming too popular for his own good, is another figure on the right playing his cards close to his chest.

"I want no-one to doubt neither my loyalty, my liberty nor my desire to serve the country," said Philippe in early April, keeping everyone guessing over his intentions.

- Anne Hidalgo France's Socialists have floundered since the one term (2012-2017) presidency of Francois Hollande who finished his term so unpopular he did not even try to seek a second mandate.

One saviour could be the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, who has said she will take a decision over whether to stand as a candidate by the autumn.

"I am sketching out my path," she told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper this month.

- Jean-Luc Melenchon The leader of the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party has been fast into the starting blocks and declared his candidacy months ago.

But he will likely struggle to match his effort from the 2017 edition where he was a major factor in the campaign and polled almost 20 percent in the first round.

- The GreensTh Europe Ecology - The Greens (EELV) party are to hold a Primary in September to choose their candidate, with the nomination set to go to either former Greenpeace campaigner Yannick Jadot, Grenoble mayor Eric Piolle or former deputy chief Sandrine Rousseau.

Whoever wins, their task will be to transfer the dazzling success the Greens enjoyed in 2020 local elections, where they picked up several big city halls, to a national level.