Poll shows Macron win in French election
in shadow of 'Penelopegate'
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[March 28, 2017]
PARIS (Reuters) - Centrist Emmanuel
Macron would trounce far-right leader Marine Le Pen in France's
presidential election if, as seems increasingly likely, the two face off
in the second and final round of the contest on May 7, a poll showed on
Tuesday.
The Ipsos poll was the latest of many to show Macron and Le Pen six or
seven percentage points ahead of erstwhile favorite Francois Fillon, who
has been engulfed by a financial scandal involving his British wife,
Penelope, and two of his children.
The poll conducted on Sunday and Monday showed Le Pen and Macron
respectively securing 25 and 24 percent of first-round votes, with
transfer votes from eliminated candidates ensuring a resounding victory
for Macron in the final two-way playoff.
Ahead of the first round vote on April 23, most of the major candidates
were out on the campaign trail on Tuesday, defending their programs in
speeches and meetings with representatives of the business federation
Medef.
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Fillon's British wife at the same moment faced questioning by
magistrates who are investigating accusations that she got hundreds of
thousands of euros of parliamentary funds from her husband for minimal
work as an assistant.
Since press disclosures in January that prompted the judicial
investigation, Fillon, a fan of late British leader Margaret Thatcher,
has tumbled from first to third place in the polls. These now show him
being eliminated in round one.
Fillon has accused Socialist President Francois Hollande of waging a
'dirty tricks' war against him.
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![](../images/032817pics/news_s33.jpg)
The five candidates for the French presidential election, from L-R,
Francois Fillon, Benoit Hamon, Marine Le Pen, Emmanuel Macron,
Jean-Luc Melenchon. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photos
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While denying he did anything illegal, he has conceded that he made
errors of judgment, both concerning the "Penelopegate" affair and in
accepting expensive made-to-measure suits from a lawyer renowed for
his role as a deal-maker in Africa.
(Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Writing by Brian Love;
Editing by Richard Balmforth)
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