From the Liveblog of
Thursday, January 19, 2017
French far-right leader Le Pen ahead in presidential poll
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleFar-right National Front Party leader Marine Le Pen is the leading candidate for president of France, according to a major poll.
Le Pen is polling at between 25 and 26 percent in the first round of the presidential election, according to the survey by Ipsos Sopra Steria for Le Monde, the French daily newspaper says (link in French).
Former PM Francois Fillon, representing France’s center-right Republicans party, trails Le Pen by about 1 percent.
According to Le Monde, Le Pen has not yet started her campaign in earnest. As late as last month, Fillon led Le Pen in opinion polls by about 3 percent. Incumbent president François Hollande of the Socialist Party was eligible to run for a second term, but last month announced that he would not seek reelection.
— JTA
The Times of Israel Community.