Both Macron and Le Pen must win a share of the 7.7 million people who voted in favor of the radical left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Melanson, who was knocked out in the first round last week. In the city of Trappes, southwest of Paris, where almost 61% of voters chose Mélenchon, opinions differ on what should be done next. The newspaper Le Figaro claimed that “on the presidential motorway, Emanuel Macron is making a subtle left turn”. Asked what Macron could do to attract the left, Trump’s mayor, Ali Rabekh, a former Socialist Party member, turned the question. “To be honest, it would be better for him to be silent because every time he opens his mouth he angers our voters and that encourages them not to vote or to vote white,” said Rabek, who campaigned for Melanson. “If Macron is going to say anything, it should be a clear message of compromise, not something vague, like perhaps reducing his retirement proposal from 65 to 64 and a half. People do not sleep that much. it just plays with fire. “ Melanson has advised supporters that “not a single vote should go to Madame Le Pen”, but made it clear that voting in the second round was tantamount to, as the French say, either a “scourge or cholera” for the left. . Rabeh reluctantly believes there is no choice. The far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen in Avignon, south of France, on Thursday. Photo: Daniel Cole / AP “Lepen is able to win and if it does, it will be the most vulnerable, the minorities, the immigrants, the undocumented, who will suffer the most. I’re not going to campaign for Macron, but I do not think we have any choice. “We must not underestimate the support of the far right.” Last Sunday there was an unexpected rise for Melanson, who finished near Le Pen. Nearly 22 percent of voters chose the leader of the radical left, La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), and now feel “politically orphaned,” Rabeh said. Polls show that 30% of Melanson’s voters can vote for Macron, 23% for Le Pen and the rest will abstain or vote blank next Sunday. Trappes, whose most famous residents include actor Omar Sy, footballer Nicolas Anelka and French comic Jamel Debbouze, has a large immigrant population, many with North African roots. The far right has claimed that the city is a hotbed of religious radicalization. In February, Jordan Bardella, the current leader of the far-right Le Pen National Group, was formally investigated for hate speech after describing the city as an “Islamic Republic”. Rabek, son of Moroccan immigrants, describes it as an unjust stigma. At Trappes Market on Friday, Clement Likwengi, 52, a fire safety adviser, said: “People here will never vote for Le Pen simply because it represents a policy of division. I think people in France forget that Macron revived the French economy, reduced unemployment and cared for people during the Covid crisis. He did the job. “ The hard-core left-winger Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is now out of action. Photo: Alain Robert / Sipa / Rex He said he would vote for Macron next Sunday and hoped his 27-year-old son and 19-year-old daughter, who were enthusiastic supporters of Mélenchon and were “extremely disappointed” by his defeat, would do the same. Thierry, 59, a builder who did not want to be named, voted for Melanson in the first round but said he would not support any candidate in the second round. “There is nothing that Macron can tell me to change my mind. He already has 10 years in public life, five in the Ministry of Finance and five as president, so we know what he has done and what he will do. “I will vote, but I will vote blankly. Of course, I’m worried that Le Pen will win, especially for the community here at Trapp, but as we say, the fear will not stop the risk. Hania Maouch, 47, who was shopping with Ghalia’s 16-year-old daughter, said her family and friends had voted for Mélenchon in the first round. He admitted that many were undecided about the latter. “We were disappointed with Mélenchon. “I think half will vote for Macron and half will not vote at all.” Melanson is consulting with 315,000 party members to decide a collective answer to the question of who will vote on Sunday. In a letter to his supporters he wrote: “One and the other are not the same.” Manon Aubry, from Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise, told the Observer that it was not up to the party to guide people on how to vote, but added: “We know Le Pen is dangerous. If both candidates have contempt for the working class, it adds a contempt for race. “Although both offer liberal politics, it adds to xenophobia.” Describing Macron as “the least bad”, he added: “We have nothing to negotiate with him. It is up to him to say what he will do to face the anger that many feel towards him “. It was this outrage that sparked protests at several universities, including the Sorbonne and Sciences Po last week, with students shouting “Neither Macron nor Lepen”. On Friday, a group of elderly men from the Maghreb – sitting in the spring sun, chatting near the Trappes market – said they did not have the right to vote in France, but were not particularly worried about the outcome. “Macron will win and life will continue as before,” said one. What about Le Pen’s threat to deport foreigners? “It says so, but it is not going to happen,” he added. Rabeh fears that this indifference is deeply misguided. “Unfortunately, I think we should just poke our noses in and vote for Macron.”
