Le Pen and Macron Hold Lead In Narrowing First Round Polls

Anti-mass migration Front National leader Marine le Pen and independent candidate Emmanuel Macron continue to hold the lead positions for the first round of France’s presidential election which is rapidly becoming a four-way race.

New figures from polling firm Kantar Sofres show that whilst leading candidates Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are still the frontrunners, their margin is becoming much smaller, Le Figaro reports.

The survey, which was carried out over Easter weekend, shows far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon has shot up from around 12 to 13 per cent before the televised debates to now standing equal with Republican candidate François Fillon, who was once considered the favourite, at 18 per cent. Macron and Le Pen stand at 24 per cent and at 23 per cent respectively.

Another poll by Opinion Way released Tuesday shows there are only 4 percentage points separating Macron in first place at 23 per cent and Mélenchon in fourth at 19 per cent. Le Pen is once again in second position at 22 per cent and Fillon at 20 per cent.

Opinion Way also conducted polls for the second round pairing up Le Pen against Macron and Fillon and found that the Front National leader would lose against both, though she would fare far better against Fillon.

Whilst Macron is currently the favourite and is expected to win against any of his main rivals in the second round, a poll from Terrain shows Mélenchon could pose a challenge. When facing off against the far-left candidate, Macron polls 58 per cent to 42 per cent – much closer than Le Pen and Fillon over whom the polls predict he would have clear wins.

Pundits say the polls may not reflect the real vote, pointing to the fact that most Le Pen supporters rarely talk to journalists and do not take part in online polling. This could mean the vote for the Front National leader could be far greater than polls suggest and has led to speculation that she could win the presidency.

Investment firm Goldman Sachs has told its investors that a Le Pen victory is not out of the realm of possibility. Strategist Bobby Vedral said that “political correctness” could cause many to lie about their voting intentions making polls unreliable.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson@breitbart.com