Le Pen's Poll Numbers Climb After Court Clears Path to Presidential Run

Polling shows she would beat all of her closest rivals, including Edouard Philippe and Jean-Luc Melenchon, if elections were held now. France will go to polls in April next year.

Marine Le Pen has widened her lead in the race for France’s presidency, with fresh polling showing her support growing just days after judges opened the door for her to run for a fourth time. A survey conducted by Elabe for BFM TV and La Tribune Dimanche put Le Pen’s first round support between 34 percent and 35.5 percent, if the election were held this coming Sunday. That marks a three point jump from where she stood back in March. The poll surveyed 1,503 adults and was carried out online on Thursday and Friday, with a margin of error ranging from 1.4 to 3.1 percentage points.

Former centrist Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who served under President Emmanuel Macron, emerged as her nearest competitor, pulling in as much as 19 percent support in one of the six scenarios pollsters tested. Jean-Luc Melenchon, who leads the far-left France Unbowed party, generally landed in third place, though that changes in one particular matchup where former centrist premier Gabriel Attal also enters the field.

Regardless of the lineup, the polling suggests Le Pen would come out on top against any of these three rivals. France will go to polls in April next year. As of now, it is too soon to tell if she’ll be able to sustain this momentum.

Judges also imposed a one year jail sentence, though they specified it would not involve actual prison time. Instead, she is expected to wear an electronic tag for part of that sentence. Le Pen has said she intends to take her case further by appealing to France’s highest court.