The President of the Republic is ahead of the leader of the extreme right, Marine Le Pen
In mainland France, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron came out on top in the first round of the presidential elections on Sunday 10 April. He obtained 27.6% of the votes cast, and the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, 23%. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the far-left candidate, came third with 22.2% of the vote. Far behind, the second far-right candidate, Eric Zemmour, came fourth with 7.2% of the vote.
A disaster for the Republicans
Valérie Pécresse received only 4.8% of the vote. It is a political earthquake. It was notably the party of French President Jacques Chirac and New Caledonian leader Jacques Lafleur. The ecologist candidate Yannick Jadot obtained only 4.7%. Another important event was the rout of the Socialist Party candidate, Anne Hidalgo. She got only 1.37% of the vote. In the previous election in 2017, the candidate of the Socialist Party had done… eight times better.
The second round on 24 April
The New Caledonian figures differ from those of mainland France. Thus, President Macron comes out on top with 40.5% of the vote. He is ahead of Marine Lepen (18.8%). Then there are: Jean-Luc Mélanchon (13.8%) and Eric Zémmour (9.1%) and Valérique Pécresse (5.9%). Valérie Pecresse’s party (Les Républicains), had dominated New Caledonian politics for some thirty years.
The second round will take place in two weeks. Only two candidates are qualified. Emmanuel Macron, slight favourite and Marine Le Pen.
