Dusseldorf France is facing a landmark decision: in two weeks, incumbent President Emmanuel Macron will face right-wing populist Marine Le Pen in the run-off election. This constellation already existed in the last election five years ago. Back then, Macron clearly won 66 to 34 percent against Le Pen.
Macron is also the favorite in this runoff election, but current polls give him only a razor-thin lead. A victory for Le Pen could have far-reaching consequences: the right-wing populist wants to remove France from the NATO command structure and end close Franco-German cooperation in the EU.
In addition, if Le Pen were to win, Europe would no longer speak with one voice when it comes to Russia and the Ukraine war. Although Le Pen has condemned the war of aggression against Ukraine, he has repeatedly sought contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent years.
In the new episode of Handelsblatt Today, Paris correspondent Gregor Waschinski reports on the initial situation and explains which groups of voters are likely to be particularly important in the runoff election.
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Leopard main battle tanks for Ukraine?
In addition, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has repeatedly called for rapid arms deliveries from the West in the past few days. On Monday it was announced that the armaments company Rheinmetall could deliver up to 50 Leopard 1 main battle tanks to the Ukrainian army.
The international Handelsblatt correspondent Mathias Brüggmann talks about the expected Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, May 9th, which is important for Putin, and Putin’s meeting with Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
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