French election frontrunners Le Pen, Macron hold rival Paris rallies April 17, 2017 - 16:35 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The two frontrunners in the French presidential election, far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron, were staging rival rallies in Paris Monday, April 17, seeking to stay ahead of a fast-chasing pack just days before the vote, AFP reports. After weeks of twists and turns, the unpredictable race has narrowed dramatically, with surveys suggesting four candidates are in contention to win one of the top two spots in the April 23 vote and progress to the run-off election a fortnight later. Scandal-hit conservative Francois Fillon and radical leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon are steaming up behind the two frontrunners, and with around one in three of the French electorate still undecided, candidates are scrapping for every vote. Le Pen and Macron, who have both scored as high as 25 percent in voter surveys, stood at 22 percent in the latest IPSOS poll, while Melenchon has surged to 20 percent and Fillon stands at 19. Outgoing President Francois Hollande weighed in on Saturday, saying Europe has "protected us against war" in the decades since World War II. "Let us preserve it instead of scapegoating it," he said at a World War I centenary event in northern France. Macron plans his biggest rally yet at the Bercy sports and concert hall, a venue with a capacity of 20,000. The location near the economy ministry serves as a reminder that the relatively inexperienced Macron held the key economy portfolio for two years under his mentor Hollande. The 39-year-old former Rothschild banker quit the Socialist government last year to form his "En Marche" ("On the Move") party and launch his bid for power as a candidate "neither of the left nor of the right". En Marche says it has planned "1,000 events a day" including 163 public rallies until the official end of campaigning at midnight on Friday. An aide to Macron said he would use Monday's event to hit back at Le Pen's accusation he is soft on Islamists. "With Mr Macron, it would be Islamism on the move," Le Pen, 48, said on Saturday in response to revelations that one of Macron's top campaigners had criticised the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly for publishing cartoons of the prophet Mohammed. Le Pen's own rally will be at the 6,000-capacity Zenith concert hall in northeast Paris, with activists saying they plan protests outside the venue. A protest is also expected in the southern port of Marseille on Wednesday where Le Pen plans another large rally.  Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads.   Partner news |  Latest news Erdogan wants “realistic road map” for relations with Armenia  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for a “new realistic road map” for relations with Armenia.Armenia-Azerbaijan: Experts launch work on determining coordinates Expert groups from the countries started the process of determining the coordinates based on geodetic measurements.Yerevan says did not expect CSTO in peacekeeping role Pashinyan has declared that the CSTO would be expected to come to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border as an ally of ArmeniaHenrikh Mkhitaryan wins Serie A title with Inter Inter Milan midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan admits that the team have long been imagining clinching Serie A against AC Milan. |
