Photo by ReutersPresidential candidate Emmanuel Macron urged French voters on Monday (local time) to turn the page on the last 20 years and bring a new generation to power, as he stepped up attacks against resurgent far-left and conservative rivals six days before voting day. Macron, a 39-year-old pro-EU centrist who would become the youngest French leader since Napoleon if elected, said recent leaders had betrayed the post-war generation which had rebuilt the country, leaving France unreformed and sclerotic. An OpinionWay poll put Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen both on 22% for the first round of the election to be held on Sunday. Two other polls had Macron just ahead of Le Pen in the first round, and beating her comfortably in the second. Fillon could find himself in the second round if he mobilises his base," Christophe Castaner, a Socialist lawmaker close to Macron, told reporters.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 17, 2017 23:48 UTC