French voters cast their ballots on Sunday in the first round of the presidential election, in which far-right candidate Marine Le Pen poses an unexpected threat to President Emmanuel Macron’s hopes of winning a new term.
Just weeks ago, opinion polls pointed to an easy victory for a pro-EU Macron, whose position has been bolstered by his active diplomacy on Ukraine, a strong economic recovery and a weak opposition.
But his popularity declined for a number of reasons, including his late entry into the election campaign when he held only one large rally, which even his supporters found disappointing, his focus on an unpopular plan to raise the retirement age, and the sharp rise in inflation.
On the other hand, Le Pen, who belongs to the far-right, skeptical of the European Union and anti-immigration, toured France with a smile and confidence on her face, amid chants of her supporters, “We will win, we will win.” Her position has been bolstered by a months-long focus on the cost of living and a dramatic drop in support for her far-right rival Eric Zemmour.
However, polls still suggest Macron will lead the first round and win the run-off once morest Le Pen on April 24, but several polls now say that is within the margin of error.
Voting begins at 8 am (0600 GMT) and ends at 1800 GMT, when the first polls of voters’ opinions as they leave the polling stations will be published. These surveys are usually very reliable in France.
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Macron distances himself from Biden who described Putin as a “butcher”: he asks to avoid escalating the conflict | International
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
“I would not use that word”, those were the declarations of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, following the American president, Joe Biden, affirmed in front of the press that Vladimir Putin is a butcher.
The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, distanced himself this Sunday from the statements of his American counterpart, Joe Biden, who he described the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, as a “butcher”, and maintained that “everything” must be done to avoid an escalation in this conflict.
The US president, following being asked by the press regarding his opinion of Putin following having seen the suffering of the refugees, Biden responded: “He’s a butcher.”
“I would not use those words”indicated the French head of state on the France 3 network.
The also candidate for re-election in April maintained that “everything must be done to make the situation slide”: “I keep talking to President Putin because what do we want to do collectively? We want to stop the war that Russia has launched, without waging war and without escalation.”
Macron underlined the importance of not fall into that escalation, “neither in action nor in word”, and advocated diplomatic means to achieve a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
“Geographically those who are in front of Russia are the Europeans. The United States is an ally in the framework of NATO with whom we share many values, but those of us who live together with Russia are the Europeans”, he recalled.
The French president, who since the beginning of the war on February 24 He has maintained regular telephone contact both with Putin and with the Ukrainian leader, Volodímir Zelenski, he specified that he will speak once more tomorrow or Tuesday with the Russian president to organize “in the best conditions” an evacuation operation from besieged Mariupol in southern Ukraine.
The US president made the remarks following visiting the PGE Narodowy soccer stadium, converted into a refugee center to care for some of the more than 2.17 million who have fled from Ukraine to Poland since the war began.
During his visit, Biden spoke with several Ukrainian refugees, hugged a woman and picked up a girl.
Later, he explained to the press that some children asked him to pray for their parents, grandparents or siblings who are in Ukraine fighting Russian forces.
Putin meets with Macron to discuss the Ukrainian issue and the issue of security in Europe
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
MOSCOW, Feb. 7, 2022 (Xinhua) Russian President Vladimir Putin met his visiting French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Monday to discuss the Ukraine crisis and the issue of security in Europe.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Macron following their hours-long talks in the Kremlin, Putin said the meeting was practical and useful.
Putin added that Russia’s basic concerns regarding security were ignored by the United States and NATO and that the military alliance tried to lecture Russia on where and how to deploy its armed forces.
He told Macron that Kiev refuses to comply with the 2015 Minsk agreements on a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian issue, but rather aims to dismantle the agreements, reiterating Russia’s refusal to expand NATO to the east.
For his part, Macron said during the press conference that he believes that there is still a chance to find a peaceful path for Europe, as new mechanisms are needed to ensure security, stressing the need to preserve existing agreements at the same time.
Macron stressed that there is no alternative to a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis, and that the Minsk agreements remain the basis for this solution.
On Moscow’s proposed security guarantees between Russia and the US-led NATO, Macron said negotiations should continue, although it would not be easy to reach consensus.
Putin and Macron agreed to hold phone talks following the latter’s visit to Kiev on Tuesday.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, expressing his “moderate optimism without expecting any miracles” regarding the meeting, according to “Russia Today”, which quoted the French president as saying on board the French presidential plane before arriving in the capital. Russian: “I expect to meet with moderate optimism, but I do not believe in instant miracles.”
The channel pointed out that Macron is visiting Moscow before heading to Kiev tomorrow, once morest the backdrop of tension over Ukraine and Western allegations regarding a possible Russian invasion of it.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that tension in Europe, the situation around Ukraine and the file of Russian proposals on security guarantees will be at the top of the agenda of talks between Putin and Macron.