The largest rally of the second round of the central establishment so far, which took place in the Pharo Gardens overlooking the old port of Marseille, coincided with demonstrations in the Mediterranean port city and across the country “against the far right”. But many leftists in Marseille, the constituency of the third Jean-Luc Mélenchon, have made it clear that they are still unsure whether to vote for one of the two candidates, considering it a choice between “plague and cholera”. At a temperature of 27 degrees Celsius, which is appropriate for a speech on global warming, the 44-year-old told a crowd of thousands that green issues would shape all his policies if re-elected and would be overseen by a “prime minister directly responsible for environmental planning”. . The promise, which was not in his manifesto, was a major concession to supporters of Mr Mélenchon, the left who had called for a € 200 billion spree to tackle climate change. Both presidential candidates have promised to boost France’s nuclear industry, but have strongly differing views on renewable energy. Ms Lepen has pledged to destroy wind farms, while Macron wants to speed up wind and solar energy. “The far right is a climate-skeptical plan,” Macron warned as opinion polls showed that his lead over his nationalist rival was widening slightly. A poll by Ipsos-Sopra-Steria showed him to win next Sunday with 55.5 percent of the vote compared to Ms. Lepen’s 44.5 percent. He also singled out multicultural Marseille, France’s second most populous city and the older one, as a symbol of his vision for the Galatian “open” against the “great division” that, he said, he reserves if Ms. Le Pen embraces power.
