Defeated French Presidential Candidates Rally To Block The Far-Right

Defeated candidates from the left, far-left, ecological, socialist, and communist parties stepped up on Sunday to urge the French to keep far-right candidate Marine Le Pen out of power and cast their votes in favor of President Emmanuel Macron, as the two top contenders are headed for the second round of the decisive presidential election.

The preliminary results of the first round have been catastrophic for France's political spectrum on the left, even as the right-wing followers erupted into early celebrations.

The varied candidates on the Left-wing who failed to put up a united front in the run-up to the elections and decided to contest separate campaigns dividing the valuable votes from its base joined their forces in the loss.

Following reports of their crushing defeat, the battered candidates pulled up their socks to pledge their united support in favor of Macron, and urged voters to not vote for Le Pen under any circumstances.

Le Pen's advance to the second round has raised hackles among Macron's centrist and leftist political opponents, who fear a swell in her popularity in the second round.

The right-wing has never managed to get enough votes to beat the mainstream political candidates. Although Macron won against Le Pen in the second round in 2017, her share is projected to be the highest and she has never come this close to taste victory, pollsters say.

The fears of her victory and France's turnaround to the right, are even more prominent in the midst of Macron's dwindling popularity and public backlash.

United voice: Don't vote Le Pen

"We must not give a single voice to Madame Le Pen," veteran leftist politician Jean Luc Melenchon declared to his supporters. After receiving the results of his third place in the exit polls with an estimated 19-20% of votes, he called upon the French people to "vote for lesser evils" and beat Le Pen.

He acknowledged that the French are facing a "political emergency" and there is a lot of anger among his fellow nationals against the incumbent head of the state Macron.

"I know your anger, my compatriots. But don't give in to it, making mistakes that would be irreparable," he appealed, reminding that "we know for whom we will never vote."

Paris mayor and socialist party candidate Anne Hidalgo, whose party dominated French politics with the presidency of Francois Hollande (2012-2017), received a shockingly low 1.8-2% vote share. She was the first to bow out of the race and call upon her supporters to vote against Le Pen.

"The results and the abstention show France is divided along with several fault lines," Hidalgo said, calling the voters to ensure that the country "does not tip into hatred of all against all." "I ask you gravely to vote on April 24 against Le Pen's far-right with a ballot for Emmanuel Macron."

Valerie Pecresse, who came in fifth in projected exit polls, said she will vote for Macron "to prevent the chaos that would result with Le Pen's coming to power." She asked her voters to think with "seriousness about the potentially disastrous consequences for our country and future generations of any choice different" about their choice for the second round.

Communist Party's Fabien Roussel, who scored in eighth place, said the French should choose to block the far right. "Next Sunday, I will choose responsibility, I would never allow a racist and xenophobic project to gain responsibility in France … I know that it is increasingly difficult to say it," he said.

Ecological candidate Yannick Jadot, who stood sixth with 4.5% of the vote, reminded his supporters about the fundamental threat posed by the far right. "We will not give up, the state of the country requires it," he said, calling on the environmental voters to block the far right.​​​​​​​ -