66% French voters want Macron, a second term as Prez

Paris, Jun 30 (UNI/Sputnik) At least 60% of French citizens said they would vote for head of state Emmanuel Macron in the second round of the presidential election in 2022, choosing him over the leader of the right-wing National Rally party, Marine Le Pen, BFMTV reported on Wednesday, citing a poll by the Elabe social research service.
In the last presidential election in 2017, Macron entered the second round with 23.7% of the vote, and Le Pen with 21.7%. However, in the second round, Le Pen lost to Macron by a wide margin of 33.9% of votes against 66.1%.
The next presidential election in France is scheduled for April 2022. Le Pen has already announced her candidacy, while Macron is yet to officially confirm his bid.
According to the Elabe poll, between 29% and 31% of French citizens are ready to vote for Macron in the first round, and some 23-25% plan to vote for Le Pen. But, if these two candidates were to enter the second round, the National Rally leader would have gained about 40% of the vote versus 60% for Macron.
When asked about the main qualities that the French voters would like to see in the new president, the respondents named the ability to listen, honesty and competence.
The survey, conducted from June 28-29, covered 1,124 people aged 18 and older. The margin of error for this sample size is under 3.5%.