Chirac favored To Win Landslide

05/05/2002| IslamWeb

HIGHLIGHTS: Newspapers of all Colour Urge Voters to Support Chirac||Anti-Le Pen Protests Expected to Continue||Poll Gives Chirac 75-82 per cent of Vote||STORY: After a two-week campaign that mobilized France, conservative President Jacques Chirac appeared likely to win his re-election bid against ultra-right contender Jean-Marie Le Pen. On the eve of Sunday's runoff, newspapers of varying political stripes urged readers to support Chirac against Le Pen, leader of the National Front party. Polls and political observers indicated Chirac's victory was virtually in hand. Observers say, the dust has yet to settle after Le Pen shocked France and confounded pollsters on April 21 by coming in second in a reord field of 16 candidates - notably Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.

The success of Le Pen fuelled a wave of popular protests across France. Anti-Le Pen marchers flooded the streets nearly every day after his first-round showing, culminating in a gigantic march by more than a million people on the May Day holiday.

The protests were expected to continue all the way to the ballot box. Some leftists were so disgruntled about having to vote for Chirac that they planned to put on gloves to handle the ballot.

France's Constitutional Council warned that anyone casting ballots with gloves - or other improper behavior - could risk the annulment of their votes.

Another question is how many people will abstain, or how those who didn't vote in the first round would vote on Sunday. There was a record 28 percent abstention rate in the first round.

Many parties on the left, especially the Socialists, are already looking forward to legislative elections next month, billed as a "third round" of the election.

On Friday, Le Pen predicted fraud in the election. He held up a white ballot for Chirac and one for himself, which appeared slightly less white. He said the difference was an attempt to subliminally turn voters against him.

Le Pen, 73, says that if elected he will deport all illegal immigrants and assure French citizens priority in jobs, housing and social benefits. He wants to pull France out of the European Union and restore the franc as its currency.

A poll published Friday in daily Le Figaro indicated that Chirac would win 75-82 percent of the vote, compared to 18-25 percent for Le Pen. The survey of 1,012 registered voters was conducted April 30-May 2 by the Ipsos polling agency.

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