French Pundit Saps Le Pen’s Support in Election Poll

(Bloomberg) -- French far-right television pundit Eric Zemmour has increasing potential to take votes from nationalist candidate Marine Le Pen in a race to challenge President Emmanuel Macron in April’s elections, a poll shows. 

Le Pen still leads Zemmour in all of the first-round scenarios tested in an Ipsos Sopra-Steria poll, but the gap is closing in early polling. Assuming Xavier Bertrand runs as candidate for the center-right, Zemmour’s share of the vote has risen to 15% from the 8% measured in early September, while Le Pen’s has fallen to 16% from 19%. 

With that lineup, Macron would easily pass to the second round runoff with 24% of the vote, an unchanged score from the previous poll. If Zemmour didn’t run, the poll shows Le Pen much closer to Macron in the first round.

Ipsos Sopra-Steria surveyed 1,500 people Sept. 29 and Sept. 30 for radio station France Info and newspaper Le Parisien.

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