On Sunday French citizens will go to the polls in the first round of the country’s hotly contested 2017 presidential elections. The elections pit leftist candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon against far-right National Front leader Marian Le Pen, centrist Emmanuel Macron and the scandal-riddled conservative Francois Fillon.
France's election is shaping up as the most unpredictable in decades, with Le Pen and neoliberal Macron tied in polls for the April 23 first round, with Melenchon and conservative Fillon on 20 and 19 percent respectively.
If You Read One Thing
France’s National Front and Millennials: When Insecurity and Fear Meet Social Media
Among the biggest unknowns in the French elections is the level of support for the extreme-right National Front among younger voters. Older white voters have long made up the core of the party’s support, but its leader, Marine Le Pen, has taken to repeating that the FN is the party of choice for twentysomethings. It’s a claim worth investigating. READ MORE
France's Leftist Hope
Leftist Presidential Candidate Melenchon's 5 Ideas for France
As the first round of France's presidential elections to be held on April 23 draws closer, leftist candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon has been making the headlines in the media after the former socialist leader rose to a stunning 16 percent in the latest polls — only 1 point off third-placed conservative candidate Francois Fillon. READ MORE
French Leftist Candidate Makes Gains After Impressive TV Debate
In the lead-up to the first round of France's presidential election, French leftist candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon has received a major boost from one poll that indicates a significant boost in his popularity after he impressed during a presidential debate earlier in the week. READ MORE
France's Leftist Melenchon Surges as Frontrunners Lose Steam
A new poll on Tuesday showed left-wing Jean-Luc Melenchon nipping at the heels of the frontrunners in France's presidential race, building on his recent surge as sniping between the top contenders gathered pace. READ MORE
Rise of the French Far Right
France's Le Pen Under Fire in First Presidential Debate
Marine Le Pen's proposal to pull France out of the euro and her hardline stance on Islam came under attack from her fellow presidential hopefuls Monday, in a combative TV debate a month before the country goes to the polls.
France's Far-Right Proposes Trump-Style Muslim Travel Ban
If National Front candidate Marine Le Pen is elected president this spring, her party would likely implement a similar ban, party vice president Steeve Briois told AFP. READ MORE
Does the UAE Fund France's Far-Right National Front?
As the French far right desperately tries to find funding for the presidential campaign, secular Muslim states have been tipped as possible options. READ MORE
The Wild Card
Anti-Capitalist Candidate for French President Goes Viral
The anti-capitalist candidate is among the favorites in France's two-party system and provided one of the best moments in the campaign so far. READ MORE
Corruption Scandals
French Police Search Fillon Office as Fraud Case Rocks Campaign
Francois Fillon had been favorite to win the presidency for the conservative Republicans party until it was reported that his wife Penelope had withdrawn hundreds of thousands of euros in pay from state funds without doing any work. READ MORE
Le Pen Top Aide Put Under Formal Investigation over Corruption
The chief of staff of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was put under formal investigation after a day of questioning over alleged misuse of EU funds to pay parliamentary assistants. READ MORE
Europe's Far-Right Emboldened by Trump's Triumph
France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen was one of the first to congratulate Trump and “the free American people” for the result. Le Pen’s National Front party has been gathering support on an anti-immigration and anti-EU platform and is looking to claim a similar victory in next year’s presidential elections. READ MORE
Conflict in French Guiana
Guiana Uprising: France Offers Apology, $1 Billion in Aid
The protests in Guiana take place in the midst of a hotly contested French presidential election which will likely determine the fate of a 2016 bill which looked to address the longstanding racialized inequalities between France's mainland and its overseas colonies. READ MORE
France Leftist Candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon Praises ALBA
French Guiana and the French West Indies will join ALBA, founded by Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, if French presidential candidate and communist-backed leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon is elected next month, he promised. READ MORE
Reason Why Guiana's Strikers Blocked Access to Space Satellite
Since its colonization in 1503, France has denied Guiana the same labor and health care rights that those on the mainland enjoy. READ MORE