FILE PHOTO: Marine Le Pen, candidate of the Front National (FN) political party for the 2017 French presidential election, smiles before her victory on April 7. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo
March 31, 2022
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s veteran far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is the country’s second most popular politician, according to a poll Thursday, taken 10 days before the first round of elections.
According to the Elabe survey for the newspaper Les Echos and Radio Classique, 35% of those questioned said they had a “good image” of Le Pen. In 2017, when she lost to Emmanuel Macron in the presidential runoff, the figure was 32%.
Le Pen has overtaken former President Nicolas Sarkozy in the poll, who came third with 33% positive opinions. However, it still lags behind former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who scored 44%.
The Elabe poll did not test the popularity of either President Emmanuel Macron or his Prime Minister Jean Castex.
In 2017, 46% of Elabe respondents had a “very bad image” of Le Pen, who is preparing for her third presidential bid, up from 34% now.
Le Pen has softened her image since 2017, abandoning unpopular plans to abolish the euro, tweeting about her passion for cats and once taking selfies with a veiled Muslim girl.
Though polls showed Macron received a boost in voting intentions after Russia waged war on Ukraine, he is now falling behind as Le Pen gains ground.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
https://www.oann.com/far-right-le-pen-now-second-most-liked-french-politician-poll-shows/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=far-right-le-pen-now-second-most-liked-french-politician-poll-shows Far-right Le Pen is now the second most popular French politician, according to polls