Support for French Socialist Presidential Candidate Hamon Drops by 2%

Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen retains her one-point lead over independent candidate Emmanuel Macron, who holds 24 percent of projected votes, while public support for the French Socialist party presidential candidate Benoit Hamon has declined by 2 percent since Friday and reached 8 percent in the first round, according to poll.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Public support for the French Socialist party presidential candidate Benoit Hamon has declined by 2 percent since Friday and reached 8 percent in the first round, a fresh OpinionWay poll showed Tuesday.

According to the Opinionway survey, far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen retains her one-point lead over independent candidate Emmanuel Macron, who holds 24 percent of projected votes. The voting intention figures for both candidates have not changed since Monday.

No shifts in the polls have been indicated either for far-left presidential hopeful Jean-Luc Melenchon or The Republicans' party nominee Francois Fillon. Melenchon remains one point behind Fillon with 18 percent.

In the second round of of the election, Macron increased his lead over Le Pen by 1 percent and is now projected to beat her 63 to 37 percent.

The first round of the presidential election in France is set for April 23, while the run-off vote is slated for May 7.