Citizens, and especially millennials in Marseille, a multicultural city in southern France in the Mediterranean, favored hardline presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melanson over center Macron in the first round of voting on April 10. The young voters of Marseille, who leaned mainly to the far right and far left last Sunday, are particularly concerned with climate issues – a point Macron hoped to use in an insurgent speech on the shores of the Shining Sea. “I hear the stress that many of our young people have. “I see young people, teenagers, who are afraid of the future of our planet,” he said. Macron faces far-right challenger Marine Le Pen in the second round of France’s April 24 presidential election after another 10 candidates, including Melanson, were eliminated in the first round. For many who voted for left-wing candidates in the first round, the second round of the presidential election is an awkward choice between a cursed candidate, Lepen, and a president who some believe has turned to the center right in his first round. . term. The outcome of the second round could depend on how left-wing voters decide: to support Macron or let him deal with Le Pen. Macron has mixed green credentials, which he hopes will improve. Although he was associated with the slogan “Make the Planet Great Again”, in his first five years in office he capitulated to the angry protesters in yellow vests by abolishing a tax increase on fuel prices. In applause on Saturday, Macron said his next prime minister would be in charge of environmental planning as France seeks to become carbon neutral by 2050. He also promised more public transport nationwide to wean people dependent on the cars. Although Macron came out on top in the first round of voting, the 44-year-old incumbent president admitted that “nothing has been decided” in the increasingly tight race to become France’s next leader. In Marseille, he targeted Lepen’s opponent, who has gained increasing support in recent weeks. “The far right represents a danger for our country. “Do not just whistle it, knock it out,” he said, warning of the political dangers posed by overconfident supporters in the crucial second round. Le Pen spent Saturday approaching voters in Saint-Rémy-sur-Avre, a village in northwestern France where she visited an antique market. During the election campaign on Friday, both candidates expressed confusion over their differing positions on Muslim religious dress in public – Le Pen wants to ban headscarves in France, the country with the largest Muslim population in the country. Europe. Both Lepen and Macron were confronted by women in headscarves who asked why their clothing choices had to be involved in politics. Across France, protesters are protesting a series of issues ahead of the second round of the presidential election. In central Paris on Saturday, the environmental group Extinction Rebellion launched a three-day demonstration against what they call France’s inaction on climate issues. Activists say their goal is to “bring climate issues back to the forefront of the presidential debate”. Hundreds of activists from the XR environmental group are also calling on the two presidential candidates to make commitments to protect the environment. In a rally in Paris on Saturday against racism, many left-wing voters described the run-off as “anxious”. Some said they would hold their noses and vote for Macron, just to block Le Pen. But many said they would not vote at all or would vote without a name. One protester said they had just fallen asleep and cried repeatedly since Melanson came third in the first round after Lepen. Faridi Jumoi said he voted for Macron in the first round, but protested with a sign reading “Better a stinking vote than a deadly vote,” hoping to persuade people to rally around the president against Le Pen. “The stinking vote is Emmanuel Macron, because there have been a lot of problems under his leadership,” he said. “The vote that kills is the National Coalition, Marin Le Pen, a party based on hatred.”
Follow all the AP stories for the 2022 French presidential election at h ttps: //apnews.com/hub/french-election-2022
