Ahead of the second round of presidential elections: France is preparing for the 2017 rerun | Israel today

France enters the second round of presidential elections between Emanuel Macron and Marin Le Pen - and everything is open.

The incumbent may have gained a little more than a 5% advantage over his rival, the representative of the national right, in the first round yesterday - but those around him are worried, and refuse to rest on their laurels.

In a speech in Paris upon learning of the results, Macron repeatedly made it clear to his supporters that "nothing is guaranteed," and that only a complete mobilization and appeal to voters who did not vote for him, or did not vote at all, would prevent a "far-right" victory.

Alexander Holroid, a Member of Parliament for the President's party, said: "Nothing is over yet. The citizens of France must choose between two very different approaches to their future."

French President Emanuel Macron and right-wing candidate Le Pen, Photo: AFP

If until Tuesday Macron was content with one big election conference in Paris, in the next two weeks he intends to plow the territory and focus on the "enemy strongholds" - in an attempt to persuade Le Pen voters to defect to it.

That is why his campaign for the second and decisive round, which will take place on April 24, was decided to start in the town of Dedan in the north of France, where 41% of the approximately 20,000 eligible voters voted for Le Pen in the first round.

Second to her was the radical left-wing candidate, Jean-Luc Melonschon, and only after him did the incumbent president tail.

Although in the first round some of Macron's opponents, left and right, called for him to "block the far right", the president faced a complicated reality: more than 52% of voters on Tuesday preferred anti-establishment and anti-European candidates from right and left, who see him All the troubles of France - Le Pen, Melonson and Eric Zamor.

Fighting for every voice

The right, on the other hand, is preparing for the biggest opportunity that has happened to them so far on the way to the conquest of the Elysee Palace.

Zamor, the Jewish candidate who was defeated on Tuesday with 8% of the vote, sided with Le Pen, and announced that he would run in her election campaign.

So is Nicolas Dupont Annien, who received only 2% of the vote.

Melonshon, who won 20 percent of the vote on Tuesday, said he was not allowed to "give even one vote to La Pen," but according to various estimates, about a third of his voters would vote for him because of their hatred of Macron, and another third would abstain.

By the way, the abstention rate in the first round, about a quarter of the votes cast, was among the highest in the history of the presidential election.

Le Pen - which is the second time it has competed in the second round, with a slight improvement in the result it received five years ago - enjoys great support among the working class and workers, as well as the weaker strata of French society.

However, she realized that if she wanted to win - she had to roll up her sleeves and give Macron a fight in the field.

In an interview with French state television yesterday, Penn told her she was "full of confidence" ahead of the decisive round.

Polls, however, predict a narrow victory for the incumbent president.

A poll conducted yesterday predicted a small 51% majority in favor of Macron, compared to 49% for Le Pen.

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