Poll: rating gap between Le Pen and Philippe growing

PARIS, Oct 8 - RIA Novosti. The gap in the rating between the head of the National Rally parliamentary faction Marine Le Pen and ex-Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who was called her main competitor for the presidency, is growing in France, according to a poll by Verian for Figaro Magazine.

"Edouard Philippe, who was almost on par with the National Rally candidate for the presidential election, is now 10 percentage points behind her," the article says.

Le Pen is ahead of her rivals on all four criteria by which respondents assessed candidates. Thus, 38% of respondents believe that she has the skills to be a good president.

More than 40% believe that she represents the French well, while 39% believe that she has a clear vision of the country's future and that she is capable of making the necessary decisions.

When the first such poll was conducted in April in connection with the upcoming presidential elections, Édouard Philippe was much closer to Le Pen in all these criteria in the eyes of the French. Now its gap ranges from 8 to 13 percentage points.

At the same time, none of the other candidates came close to Le Pen’s rating, and Philippe continues to occupy second place.

The survey was conducted on a representative sample of 1,000 French adults between 27 and 29 September. The error is 3.1%.