Le Pen and Macron Almost Neck-and-Neck as French Election Day Looms, Poll Shows

A NEW poll of French voter’s intentions shows independent centrist Emmanuel Macron having a very narrow lead over his rival Marine Le Pen

By Romina McGuinness | 31 March 2017

EXPRESS — Published just over three weeks before the April 23 opening round, the Ifop-Fiducial poll for Paris Match, CNews and Sud Radio shows Mr Macron would garner 26 per cent of the vote in the election’s first round.

But Mrs Le Pen, the anti-Brussels leader of France’s Front National party, is breathing down his neck and expected to garner 25.5 per cent of the vote.

Both presidential favourites hold a solid lead over conservative centre-right candidate François Fillon, who has dropped to below 20 per cent and is tipped to pick up no more than 17.5 per cent of the vote.

The former frontrunner’s popularity took a hit earlier this year after it was alleged his wife, Penelope, had been paid more than half a million euros for a ‘fake’ job as his parliamentary assistant. […]