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Marine Le Pen, leader of the French far-right Front National (FN) party candidate in France’s 2017 presidential election.
More than half of the French electorate want a vote on whether France should be a member of the European Union but many more do not want to leave the euro, research from Citi showed Tuesday.
“Fifty-four percent favor holding a referendum on EU membership. However, 72 percent are opposed to exiting the euro to return to the franc,” Citi said in its French 2017 elections: Who will gain momentum in the final stretch? report.
These figures were taken from an Elabe survey, conducted online on March 7 and 8 in France among 1,001 people.
With only a few weeks to go until the first round of the presidential election, it seems clear that the French are dissatisfied with European politics. However, it also seems that they fear the economic impact of leaving the euro zone, which raises questions as to whether the overall EU-sentiment will boost the chances of the far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
The leader of the Front National has pledged to hold a referendum on leaving the European Union and the single currency within six months of becoming president. According to Citi’s report, there is only a 20 percent chance that Le Pen will become the next French leader.
