The old economics minister Emmanuel Macron, from En Marche! Party (social-liberal), won the French Election's first round this past Sunday, the 23rd. Marine Le Pen was considered the favorite candidate during most of her campaign. However, the euro-deputy from the nationalist party ended up behind Macron, according to the Ipsos Institute. With the first results of this election, both candidates closed up a cycle of hegemony between socialists and republicans that alternately took turns in the Elysium Palace. The second round dispute is scheduled to take place on May 7th.
Call for a Plebiscite
Whoever becomes the new president, this election marks the beginning a new political context in France, since its people are mainly voting for change. For the first time, some controversial topics became famous, like Immigration, terrorism and public employment. Another issue (coined by Le Pen) that recently won the spotlight, is the call for a plebiscite regarding the permanence of the country in the Eurozone and/or the European Union.
The first exit poll projections showed that Macron would accumulate around 23.7% of the votes. With 21.7, Marine Le Pen, who was ranked first in most election polls both in 2016 as in early 2017, defeated the conservative François Fillon from the Republican Party.
The third position remains open between the conservative candidate François Fillon and the radical leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon from the France Insoumise, both with 19.5% of the vote. The final scenario showed Emmanuel Macron's candidacy consolidation. Macron, who became a suitable candidate after the scandals involving François Fillon.
Free French People
Le Pen was the first candidate to give her word, and she promised to "free French people," she also added that "the survivance of the French identity is primordial."
Following an eloquent speech at her electoral site in Hénin-Beaumont, in the North of the country, she considered the greatest challenge of these elections to be "wild globalism." She also stated that with her dispute in the second round, her party "gave the first step to reach the Elysium Palace."
