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French centrists' feuding increases odds of Le Pen-Melenchon runoff
Reuters • • general
Key Points:
- Infighting among centrist candidates in France's presidential race is fragmenting the mainstream vote, increasing the likelihood of a runoff between far-right Marine Le Pen and hard-left Jean-Luc Melenchon.
- Edouard Philippe, the centre-right candidate and former prime minister, is struggling with a lackluster campaign and internal challenges, causing his poll numbers to decline to 15%, below Melenchon's 16.5%.
- Gabriel Attal, another former prime minister and leader of Macron's Renaissance party, is also competing for the centrist vote, with tensions rising between him and Philippe over who should lead the centrist ticket.
- The division among centrists, including other candidates like Raphael Glucksmann and right-wing moderates, risks enabling a Le Pen-Melenchon runoff, as moderate voters remain split and candidates collapse in the polls.
- Some Macron allies are urging centrists to unite behind a single candidate to prevent a far-right and far-left runoff, warning that continued fragmentation will likely hand victory to Le Pen and Melenchon.
