Spiritwalker
Member
I'm an outsider so I don't know all that much about French politics, but this seems like good news?
On EU:
Popularity:
http://www.france24.com/en/20170116-pro-eu-macron-surges-french-election-polls-france
Once seen as a wild card in Frances increasingly unpredictable presidential campaign, former economy minister Emmanuel Macron, an independent who has never held elected office, is gaining seemingly unstoppable momentum on a strong pro-EU platform.
The centrist, who quit President François Hollandes government in August 2016 to pursue his own presidential ambitions, is running as an independent and claims he is neither left nor right.
As an independent, former investment banker Macron has distanced himself from the toxic image of the unpopular ruling Socialist party, in the middle of a lacklustre primary campaign to choose a left-wing presidential candidate, branding himself as the anti-establishment figure who can pull France out of the political and economic doldrums.
On EU:
Immigration and security are key issues in the campaign, and here Macron has set himself firmly against Le Pen (predicted to come first in April in the first round of the presidential election) who wants to end the Schengen borderless zone and eventually hold a Frexit referendum on EU membership.
"We are Europe, we are Brussels, we wanted it and we need it," Macron told a packed concert hall in the northern French city of Lille on Saturday
"We need Europe because Europe makes us bigger, because Europe makes us stronger," Macron told 5,000 mostly young supporters, enthusiastically waving EU flags, in the traditionally Socialist city that has seen Marine Le Pens National Front perform strongly in recent local elections.
Popularity:
Macron, 39, has been filling venues to the brim with young and jubilant supporters in rallies since he officially launched his presidential campaign (with his own En Marche! [Forward!] political party behind him) two months ago.
An Elabre poll published on January 12 showed that Macron was Frances most popular politician, with 41 percent saying they had a positive image of him, ahead of Fillon (35 percent) and Le Pen (29 percent).
http://www.france24.com/en/20170116-pro-eu-macron-surges-french-election-polls-france