Macron favorite in French election, Le Monde poll saysApril 4, 2017 - 17:27 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Centrist French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron and far-right rival Marine Le Pen are tied on 25 percent of the first-round election vote, although Macron would go on to beat Le Pen in the second round, a Le Monde/Cevipof opinion poll said, according to Reuters. The poll, which surveyed 14,300 people between March 31 and April 2, one of the biggest samples among the many regular surveys, said Macron would beat Le Pen in the May 7 second-round vote by 61 percent to 39 percent. Conservative candidate Francois Fillon, whose campaign has been hit by allegations that he paid his wife, a son and daughter hundreds of thousands of euros of public money for minimal work, would come third in the first-round. That would eliminate him at that stage along with the other remaining candidates. It said Fillon would get 17.5 percent of first-round votes, unchanged from the last poll in mid-March, while far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon was seen getting 15 percent, up 3.5 points and ahead of Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon on 10 percent. Voter certainty rose sharply compared with the previous survey, with 64 percent of those surveyed sure of their decision, up 5 points. Le Pen voters were the most certain, with 82 percent sure of their choice, up 4 percentage points. Fillon's certainty score was up 7 points at 75 percent, Macron's up 9 points to 61 percent, Melenchon's unchanged at 60 percent, and Hamon's up 5 points at 52 percent. All 11 candidates were due to face each other in a televised debate on Tuesday, April 4 evening. 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 | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |