MOSCOW (Sputnik) — He added that they see the candidate's possible victory as the most viable way to do so.
On Thursday, French Foreign Minister Socialist Jean-Marc Ayrault stated that that he was going to support Macron rather than conservative candidate Francois Fillon or National Front leader Marine Le Pen. The same week, President of the French National Assembly, Socialist Claude Bartolone also announced his intent to vote for Macron.
"Traditional political parties are discredited and the rats leave the ship. Whether the left-wing Hamon or Mélenchon, or the members of 'Les Republicains,' they rallied to the one they hope will be able to give them a place," Gollnisch, a member of the French National Front party, said.
During the presidency of Socialist Francois Hollande, France faced high levels of unemployment, while The Republicans' candidate Francois Fillon has been implicated in a big financial scandal involving his wife and children's fake employment.
Gollnisch explained Macron’s popularity as being greatly influenced by the fact that he supports globalization, something that the left and the center in France had been advocating for many years.
The first round of the French presidential election is slated for April 23, with the run-off between the top two candidates scheduled for May 7.
According to an OpinionWay poll released earlier on Wednesday, Macron is tied with Le Pen for the first-round of voting. He is projected to receive 25 percent of the votes in the first round, while Le Pen maintains her slight lead with 27 percent of the votes. Fillon is expected to win 19 percent. The poll shows Macron winning a runoff against Le Pen by 61 percent of the votes.
