Upcoming French election will be most unpredictable in decades
FRANCE goes to the polls on Sunday for the first round of a two-stage election which has become the country's most uncertain presidential contest for a generation. Given the recent surge for left-wing veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon, who is backed by the Communist Party, the race has become a potential four-way contest.
Part of the reason why the outcome is so uncertain is that surveys - remarkably - suggest up to a third of the 45.7 million electorate might abstain given the current French angst about politics. Moreover, even among those who intend to vote, around one third are undecided between the 11 candidates, including the four major ones: Mr Melenchon, National Front leader Marine Le Pen, centre-right Republican candidate Francois Fillon and independent, centrist Emmanuel Macron.
Mr Melenchon's recent rise raises the outside prospect of a potential far left and extreme right stand-off between him and Ms Le Pen in the second stage on May 7 (in which the two candidates with the largest votes from Sunday's first round go head-to-head).
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Columns
‘Competition for talent’ a poor excuse to keep key executives’ pay under wraps
OCBC should put its properties into a Reit and distribute the trust’s units to shareholders
Why a stronger US dollar is dangerous
An overstimulated US economy is asking for trouble
Too many property agents? Cap commissions on home sales
Time to study broadening of private market access