On Thursday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault stated that that he was going to support Macron rather than Le Pen and conservative candidate Francois Fillon. On Tuesday, President of the French National Assembly Socialist Claude Bartolone mirrored Ayrault's sentiment, saying that would give his vote for Macron in order to prevent a Le Pen presidency.
“Emmanuel Macron is actually making the synthesis of the System … He is also seen as the last lifeline by many politicians who fear the collapse of Establishment parties, especially the Socialist Party and the so-called 'Republicans.' In front of this, we embody a real alternative, a patriotic one,” Bay said, answering the question what was the reason behind increase of support to Macron.
On Monday, incumbent French President Francois Hollande said there was a "threat" of far-right Le Pen winning the presidential vote, stressing that the upcoming election result would not only determine the future of the "European structure," but also the future of France.
An OpinionWay poll revealed earlier on Friday that Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are both expected to receive 26 percent of votes in the first round of presidential election. In the second round Le Pen is projected to gain 35 percent of the votes against Macron who is expected to receive 65 percent of the votes.
The first round of the French presidential election is slated for April 23, while the run-off between the top two candidates is expected to take place on May 7.
