French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and leftist rival Jean-Luc Melenchon have widened their lead over other candidates and would face each other in a run-off in every scenario tested, a poll showed on Monday, in a sign of growing polarisation as President Emmanuel Macron’s era draws to a close.
Le Pen would come first in the first round with between 35 and 37 per cent, depending on the scenario, according to the survey by pollster Toluna Harris Interactive, carried out from October 5 to October 8. A similar poll last month put her at between 33 and 36 per cent.
Melenchon, the candidate of the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, reaches the run-off in all five scenarios polled, up from last month, when a similar poll showed him finishing third in two of five configurations.
Le Pen would beat Melenchon easily in a run-off, the poll found.
Macron is coming to the end of his second and final five-year term, and the unpopular president leaves behind a hollowed-out political centre and a weak economy, creating an opening for hardline parties such as LFI and Le Pen’s National Rally.
Melenchon has run for president three times, in 2012, 2017 and 2022, but has never reached the second round. Le Pen also stood in all three elections, reaching the run-off in 2017 and 2022, when she lost to Macron both times.
