In Paris, the French Legislative election process has begun and the votes are trickling in, but who exactly is in the lead? And who are the candidates?
Macron Vs Le Pen
As the votes trickle in, the election results in France seem to favor Emmanual Macron over Marine Le Pen.
Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen is a French politician, lawyer, and President of the National Front, a far-right political party in France. She is the youngest daughter of party founder Jean-Marie and the aunt of FN MP Marion Maréchal-Le Pen. Le Pen joined the FN in 1986 and was elected as a regional councilor (1998–present), a Member of European Parliament (2004–present), and a municipal councilor in Hénin-Beaumont (2008–2011).
Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric is the current President of France and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, having assumed these offices on 14 May 2017. He is also a former civil servant and investment banker He studied at Paris-Nanterre University, completed a Master's of Public Affairs at Sciences Po, and graduated from the École Nationale d'administration in 2004. He has been an Inspector of Finances and an investment banker at Rothschild & Cie Banque. Macron was appointed Deputy Secretary-General in François Hollande's first government in May 2012.
So What about the race?
France has a total of 577 districts, and in order to become president, a candidate must have 50 percent of the vote. So far, Mr.
Macron's party, La Republique en Marche, has obtained 32 percent of the vote. If this holds up, not only will he win the election, he will do so by a result that would far outpace any other party, although nothing is certain until the next round of voting.
Those candidates garnering half the population's vote will be declared the winners but given a large number of candidates for each seat of parliament, most of the top tier candidates will likely face a runoff next Sunday.
Macron will need at minimum 289 seats to win, but failing that, he has formed an alliance with the centrist democratic movement, in an attempt to guarantee a majority vote. As things stand now, it appears all but certain that the 39-year-old President will have not just a majority, but a potentially large one.
Traditional parties on the left and right have been weakened, leaving the socialists vulnerable and feeble.
Having controlled parliament for the last five years, the socialists are expected to hold only 10 percent of the seats available. Republicans come in next with 21 percent, after Mr. Macrons party. Because the difference between districts, nationwide totals do not necessarily translate into seats in parliament, there are often times runoffs between two or three or as many as five candidates as anyone taking 12 percent is eligible for a second round vote. Whatever the outcome, one thing is for sure, this will be one hectic race.
