Who is popular today?

France’s incumbent leader Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen will qualify for an April 24th presidential election runoff, initial projections by four pollsters showed after voting closed on Sunday.
Mr Macron led Ms Le Pen in the first round, the separate estimates by Ifop, OpinionWay, Elabe and Ipsos showed. Mr Macron won 28.1-29.5 per cent of votes while Ms Le Pen won 23.3-24.4 per cent of voter support, they projected.
That outcome would set up a duel between an economic liberal with a globalist outlook in Mr Macron and a deeply eurosceptic economic nationalist who, until the Ukraine war, was an open admirer of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Socialist candidate Anne Hidalgo, who polled ninth with just under 2 per cent of votes, backed Mr Macron. “So that France does not fall into hatred of all against all, I solemnly call on you to vote on April 24th against the far-right of Marine Le Pen,” she said.
Conservative candidate Valérie Pécresse also said she would vote for Mr Macron, warning of “disastrous consequences” if he did not win the runoff.
But rival far-right candidate Eric Zemmour will call on his supporters to back Ms Le Pen, Marion Marechal – who is an ally of Mr Zemmour and Ms Le Pen’s niece – told BFM TV.
The hard left’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon polled third on Sunday, with an estimated 20 per cent, the projections showed.
Polls closed at 8pm local time (7pm Irish time) and the interior ministry said turnout figures showed a 65 per cent participation rate by 5pm, below the 69.4 per cent recorded at the same time in 2017. Official results are expected later on Sunday night.
Riding high
Not for two decades has a French president won a second term.
Barely a month ago, Mr Macron appeared near certain to reverse that trend, riding high in polls thanks to strong economic growth, a fragmented opposition and his statesman role in trying to avert war on Europe’s eastern flank.
But he has paid the price for late entry into the campaign during which he eschewed market walkabouts in provincial France in favour of a single big rally outside Paris. A plan to make people work longer has also proved unpopular.
By contrast, Ms Le Pen has for months toured towns and villages across France, focusing on cost-of-living issues that trouble millions and tapping into deep-seated anger towards the distant political elite.
A more than 10-point lead Mr Macron had enjoyed as late as mid-March evaporated and voter surveys ahead of the first round showed his margin of victory in an eventual runoff whittled down to within the margin of error.
“I’m scared of the political extremes,” said pensioner Therese Eychenne (89) after voting for Mr Macron in Paris. “I don’t know what would become of France.”
While Le Pen has ditched past ambitions for a “Frexit” or to haul France out of the euro zone’s single currency, she envisages the EU as a mere alliance of sovereign states.
Who next holds the Elysee Palace will depend on how those who backed Mr Macron and Ms Le Pen’s rivals cast their ballots.
In past elections in 2002 and 2017, voters on the left and right have united to block the far-right from power.
However, surveys suggest that the so-called “republicain front” has crumbled, with many left-wing voters saying they are loathe to endorse a leader they deride as arrogant and a “president of the rich.”
“We want change, so why not give her a chance (in round two)?” technician Alex Talcone said in the Paris suburb of Bobigny after voting for Mr Melenchon. – Reuters