Bardella would win French presidential election, poll shows

According to the latest Odoxa poll, National Assembly leader Jordan Bardella would win the French presidential election if it were held this week.

The 30-year-old Bardella, who is seen as Marine Le Pen's successor after her disqualification following a conviction for misuse of public funds, would have won between 35 and 36 percent of the vote in the first round.

The poll, carried out on a sample of 1,000 respondents, shows that Bardella would manage to beat each of his key rivals in a second round - from the left to the centre candidates. In the final, he would have won 74 percent against Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the left and 53 percent against centrist Edouard Philippe.

Although the agency warns that a lead in the polls ahead of an election is no guarantee of success, the popularity of Macron and his followers continues to plummet.

(reuters, sie)