PARIS (Sputnik) – A direct descendant of a Russian Imperial Guard officer, Secretary General of the French Association of Russian Imperial Guard Commemoration (Association du Souvenir de la Garde Imperiale Russe), Georges Van Veen, told Sputnik that he is against both French centrist presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron and his right-wing rival Marine Le Pen.
"I do not want either Macron or Le Pen. If [The Republicans party nominee Francois] Fillon, or another right-wing candidate were to remain, it would be much better," Van Veen told Sputnik, explaining that he plans to cast an empty ballot on Sunday.
Van Veen said that casting an empty ballot demonstrates a clear disinterest in the remaining candidates.
"When they start counting, it will be obvious that people went to vote, but had no interest [in either candidate]. I am not a political expert, but that’s what I think," Georges Van Veen, who currently lives in Paris, said.
LE PEN’S CHANCES SLIM
On Friday, the last campaign day, an OpinionWay poll showed that Macron was projected to win in the Sunday runoff with 62 percent of the votes against Le Pen’s 38 percent. The poll also showed 78 percent of those surveyed believed that Macron would be elected president. Meanwhile, a Friday Ipsos poll projected that Macron would win with 61.5 percent against Le Pen’s 38.5 percent.
"If Marine Le Pen makes it, there will be riots and protests in France, it will be horrible," Van Veen claimed.
At the start of this week, numerous rallies were held across France. Demonstrations were organized by France’s national trade unions against Le Pen on Monday. Protests against both Le Pen and Macron were also held in several French cities.
On Friday, the last campaign day, a dozen of Greenpeace activists were detained for placing a banner with the French republican slogan "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" and the word "Resist" on the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The message was aimed at urging French voters not to support Le Pen.
On Saturday, over a dozen activists stormed the office of Macron’s En Marche! movement in the city of Lyon.
MACRON’S WEAK APPEAL
"I will vote with an empty ballot," Van Veen said, admitting, nonetheless, that "an empty ballot will not bring anything, of course."
Le Pen stressed on RTL radio on Friday that Macron’s program is that of "social destruction" and deregulation. She claimed that Macron was a candidate of the oligarchs, adding that the social situation in France would only aggravate should he become new president.
Le Pen has promised to renegotiate France’s EU membership or hold a nation-wide referendum on leaving the European Union if elected, while Macron has expressed pro-European views, at the same time calling for reforms that would prevent a possible "Frexit."
According to a Thursday Elabe poll, Macron was identified as the winner of the final Wednesday election debate, with 63 percent of respondents saying he was more convincing than former National Front party leader Le Pen.
The memory of the Russian Imperial Guard is carefully preserved in France by descendants of soldiers and officers. In 1914, during World War I, Leib Guard regiments helped the Allies by launching an offensive on the Eastern Front.
