Poll: Growing Support for France's Anti-Immigrant Le Pen
A ray of hope or too little, too late?
10.3.2016
15
The plot of the French presidential race is thickening thanks to a new poll which shows that the head of the nation's most popular anti-immigrant party is by far the most popular political figure among the right-wing and is gaining ground even among the left-wing, according to the UK Express.
An opinion poll of 1,053 citizens over the age of 18 was conducted by Odoxa between September 29-30 for the French television station France 2. It revealed that 74 per cent of those who consider themselves "conservative" want Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Front party, to play a more influential role in French politics, both now and in the future.
Only 53 per cent of the right-wing claimed to feel the same way about France’s former head of state Nicolas Sarkozy, and 67 per cent for Alain Juppé, who is considered the most ‘neutral’ presidential candidate and the current favorite to win the election in the spring of 2017.
The survey also showed that 50 per cent of the French population – both left and right-wing – think that Le Pen is a "major" political player and that she should be given more power. Only 33 per cent said the same thing about Sarkozy, and a mere 27 per cent about President Francois Hollande.
Aside from illustrating Le Pen’s rise in power and her newfound ability to win over voters feeling let down by Hollande, the poll also shows nearly two-thirds of the French – 62 per cent – think both Hollande and Sarkozy had been equally “bad” presidents. One-quarter of the French think Sarkozy was a better president than the socialist Hollande, with 12 per cent believing the opposite.
The poll made another shocking revelation: two-thirds of the French – 63 per cent – think that left-wing politicians could be eliminated from the French political scene after next year’s elections.
The poll also shows that nearly one-quarter of left-wing voters – 24 per cent – want Le Pen to be given more political say, compared to 54 per cent for Hollande, 17 per cent for Sarkozy, and 72 per cent for Juppé. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the survey reveals that 72 per cent of the French want Hollande to leave the political stage, compared to 49 per cent for Le Pen and 66 per cent for Sarkozy.
Posts
