SHAFAQNA | by Farinaz Parnianifard– Following the political turmoil in France, French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that if “current challenges” are not addressed, French moderates are likely to lose the next presidential election to far-right politician, namely Marine Le Pen.
Le Pen is set to become the biggest political winner of the country’s ongoing turmoil, Macron said in an interview published on Sunday (23 Apr 2023) with Le Parisien newspaper.
Macron also stood by his highly divisive pension reform, reiterating his position that the only real mistake was not publicizing the ill-advised move enough.
The pension reforms, which included raising France’s retirement age from 62 to 64, sparked widespread protests and civil unrest that continue across the country. Macron’s decision to take this highly undesirable action without due process has increased tensions.
Le Pen, who ran unsuccessfully for the French presidency three times and lost the last two to Macron, accused the president of creating a “total divide” between the French people and the presidency.
Several recent polls show that Le Pen’s popularity has increased since the debacle. For example, a poll conducted in early April for BFM TV by the Elabe Group showed Le Pen with 55 percent and Macron with 45 percent if they made it to the second round of voting then. However, in last year’s election, Macron beat Le Pen by 17%.
Source: RT
read more from shafaqna: