Sabah mannan
The race to become Frances new president is down to two. The far right Marine Le Pen is within striking distance of the French presidency. Did the media in France get her this far and how do they cover her now? Al Jazeera’s The Listening Post prepared a report on how France’s votes took a toll on the media. France is heading into the homestretch of its presidential election campaign down to two candidates with the second round coming up May 7th. This is the first time since 2002 that the French news media have had a candidate from the far right front Nationale to cover in the runoff Marine Le Pen. Back in 2002, her father Jean-Marie was the candidate but the prospect of Anneliese, a palace occupied by the far-right figure led the French establishment including the media to close ranks that Le Pen was crushed at the polls. A lot has changed percent of votes in the first round on April 23, announced on Friday that he was backing Le Pen, as widely expected.“As President of the Republic I will name Nicolas Dupont-Aignan Prime Minister, supported by a presidential majority and united by the national interest,” she told a news conference in Paris at which the two politicians sat together. Dupont-Aignan said he had signed an agreement on the future government with Le Pen that took into account some “modifications” of her program.Polls on Friday showed centrist Emmanuel Macron winning the French presidential runoff with 59-60 percent of votes, although Le Pen has gained some ground since the start of the week.