PARIS, 09 Octo. - (ANA) - Over the last month, Le Pen has lost her almost monopoly grip over the far-right which she has enjoyed since taking over from her father as head of the National Front party in 2011. 

 

Pundit-turned-politician Zemmour, an ultra-nationalist with several convictions for racist hate speech, has stolen much of her thunder since emerging as a more radical challenger in the same political space. 

 

A shock poll on Wednesday measuring voter sympathies ahead of next April's election showed Zemmour eclipsing Le Pen for the first time. 

 

Some 17-18 percent of people polled said they would vote for Zemmour in the first round scheduled for April 10 next year, up from 7.0 percent at the start of September, compared with 15-16 percent for Le Pen. 

 

That score would be enough for Zemmour to qualify for the second round run-off vote where he would face President Emmanuel Macron, who was shown winning the contest by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent. 

 

The poll, published in Challenges magazine, is likely to lend further momentum to Zemmour's anti-immigration, anti-Islam campaign which has been boosted by exhaustive media coverage and interviews over the last month.  - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/09 October 2021 - - -