Macron eyes green vote as election nears

PARIS－French President Emmanuel Macron held a major campaign rally on Saturday in Marseille, talking of his environmental and climate accomplishments and future plans in a pitch to young and green voters he fears could abstain in the presidential election runoff on Sunday.

Citizens and especially millennials in Marseille, a multicultural city on the Mediterranean, favored hard-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon over the centrist Macron in the first round of voting on April 10. Young voters in Marseille, who leaned mainly to the far right and the far left that day, are particularly engaged with climate issues－a point Macron hoped to capitalize on in a rousing speech at the edge of the glistening sea.

"I hear the anxiety that exists in a lot of our young people. I see young people, adolescents, who are fearful about our planet's future."

Macron is facing off against far-right challenger Marine Le Pen after 10 other candidates, including Melenchon, were eliminated in the first round of voting.

Polls show Macron stretching his lead over Le Pen, with a fresh survey on Saturday by Ipsos Sopra/Steria suggesting Macron would garner 55.5 percent of the vote.

For many who voted for left-wing candidates in the first round, the presidential runoff vote is an unpalatable choice between a candidate who is anathema to them, Le Pen, and a president who some feel has veered to the right of center during his first term. The runoff outcome could depend on how left-wing voters make up their minds: between backing Macron or leaving him to fend for himself against Le Pen.

Macron has mixed green credentials, something he hopes to improve on. Although he was associated with the slogan "Make the planet great again" in his first five-year term he capitulated to angry yellow vest protesters by scrapping a tax rise on fuel.

As well as promising to make France "the first major nation to abandon gas, oil and coal", Macron said he would appoint a prime minister who would have the task of "ecological planning".

He also promised new investments in renewable technologies, energy-saving residential renovations and organic food production, and pledged crackdowns on air pollution and single-use plastics.

Clear pitch

The speech was a clear pitch to the young and left-wing voters who backed Melenchon and the Greens nominee Yannick Jadot in the first round who will be crucial in the second round.

"It's up to us to react and up to us to take action," Macron said.

To cheers on Saturday, Macron said his next prime minister would be placed in charge of environmental planning as France seeks to become carbon neutral by 2050. He also promised more public transport nationwide to wean people off being dependent on cars.

Even though Macron, 44, came out on top in the first round of voting, he has acknowledged that "nothing is decided" in the election. In Marseille, he targeted his rival Le Pen, who has gained increasing support in recent weeks.

Le Pen spent Saturday reaching out to voters in Saint-Remy-sur-Avre, a village in northwestern France where she visited an antiques market.

Across France, protesters are speaking up on a host of issues as Sunday's vote nears.

In the center of Paris on Saturday, the environmental group Extinction Rebellion launched a three-day demonstration against what they call France's inaction on climate issues. The activists say their objective is "to put climate issues back at the center of the presidential debate".

Hundreds of activists from the environmental group XR are also asking both presidential candidates to make commitments to protect the environment.

Agencies via Xinhua