French extreme candidates steam ahead in 2027 presidential race, poll shows

Marine Le Pen, French far-right leader and member of parliament, who is running in the 2027 French presidential election for the Rassemblement National (National Rally – RN), delivers a speech in Henin-Beaumont, northern France, September 13, 2026. REUTERS

PARIS, Sept 14 (Reuters) – French far-right leader Marine Le Pen maintained her lead ahead of the presidential election and far-left rival ​Jean-Luc Melenchon was second in most tested scenarios, ‌a poll showed on Monday, stressing the electorate’s growing polarisation as Emmanuel Macron’s era ends.

• Le Pen would garner between 33% and 36% ​of the votes of the first-round election depending ​on the scenarios tested by pollster Toluna Harris Interactive, ⁠in a survey carried out between September 8 and ​September 10.
• Melenchon, the candidate of the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, ​is seen reaching a run-off in at least three of the five scenarios polled, while he tied for second place in a ​fourth scenario. Le Pen is seen beating him easily ​in a run-off.
• Macron’s former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe is the only centre-right ‌candidate ⁠coming ahead of Melenchon in one scenario tested and tying in another one. The others would end up behind in all scenarios.
• As Macron’s second and final term comes to ​an end, the ​unpopular president ⁠leaves behind a hollowed-out political centre and weak economy, opening space for hardline parties, ​such as LFI and Le Pen’s National Rally.
• Melenchon ​has ⁠already run three times for president in 2012, 2017 and 2022 but has never managed to reach the second round. ⁠Le ​Pen has also run these same ​three times. She made it to the run-off in 2017 and 2022 but ​lost to Macron.

Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by David Gregorio