Macron campaign for presidency off to slower start than Le Pen: pollApril 27, 2017 - 10:08 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Fewer French voters believe centrist Emmanuel Macron got off to a good start in the last lap of France's presidential election than far right leader Marine Le Pen, a poll showed on Thursday, April 27, Reuters reports. Macron, the favorite to win the presidency, has suffered several costly public relations missteps since he and Le Pen qualified in a first round of voting on Sunday for the decisive May 7 run-off. The Elabe poll for BFM TV found that one out of two people surveyed considered that Le Pen's campaign had gotten off the ground well, compared with 43 percent for Macron. Striking workers jeered Macron, a 39-year-old former economy minister, on Wednesday during a visit to the Whirlpool tumble-drier factory in his hometown of Amiens in northern France after Le Pen unexpectedly turned up there hours earlier and was well received. Although Macron held his ground and the tension eventually eased, television channels repeatedly broadcast film of the candidate being heckled, marking a stark contrast with Le Pen taking photographs with workers. With polls indicating Macron will win the run-off against Le Pen by a comfortable margin, he has also taken heat for seemingly acting as if victory were already in the bag. Rivals and potential allies alike criticized his visit on Sunday night to an elegant Parisian restaurant for celebrations after coming out on top in the first round of voting. The visit to the Left Bank brasserie made him an easy target for Le Pen's campaign which seized on the incident to portray the former investment banker as a member of an arrogant political elite out of touch with the people. After that incident, Macron laid low for several days, while Le Pen's campaign went on the offensive. Photo. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients YSU students who received scholarships from Byblos Bank Armenia gathered in a casual setting to meet with the Bank's CEO, Hayk Stepanyan. Azerbaijan extends Rune Vardanyan’s arrest by 5 months A court in Azerbaijan has extended the arrest of former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan by five months. Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. |