- “Will Prince Harry Have A Play Pen At The Coronation If He Has A Tantrum?” – Julia Hartley-Brewer TalkTV
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Had to Wait for Confirmation That They’d Be Invited to the Coronation InStyle
- Why Prince Harry Doesn’t Have Coronation Role Like Prince William Cosmopolitan
- New Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Drama As Estranged Royals Made To Wait For Coronation Invite TalkTV
- Prince Harry Has Reportedly Been ‘Regularly’ Speaking To Dad King Charles Since Book Release HollywoodLife
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: Pen
Galaxy Z Fold 5 could get a major camera boost, built-in S Pen slot
Last updated: January 16th, 2023 at 06:04 UTC+01:00
There is some spicy news for an upcoming Samsung smartphone. No, it isn’t the soon-to-be-launching Galaxy S23 series, which is all set to debut on February 1. The rumors are about the Galaxy Z Fold 5, which is expected to launch in the second half of 2023. Going by the rumor, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, could come with a 108MP primary rear camera.
According to a new report by the Vietnamese publication The Pixel, Samsung might ditch the 50MP camera for the 108MP primary camera, which is currently found on the Galaxy S22 Ultra. This, in turn, would make the device a bit heavier, and it will weigh around 275 grams (which is a little hard to believe). For comparison’s sake, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 weighs 263 grams.
Galaxy Z Fold 5 rumored to get a 108MP main camera and 64MP telephoto camera
This increase in weight will be partly because of the new 108MP camera that the rumors are leaning towards. This is great news (although it isn’t anything concrete, and is just a rumor), especially since foldable phones are often criticized for their less-than-stellar camera performance. Not that they are bad by any means, they just aren’t at the level of the premium slab phones but are priced higher than them.
Not only the Galaxy Z Fold 5 main camera but the telephoto camera is also rumored to get a boost. As per reports, the main 108MP snapper will be accompanied by a 64MP camera with 2x optical zoom and a 12MP ultrawide shooter on the Galaxy Z Fold 5. But one should take this piece of information with a pinch of salt since Samsung upgraded the cameras on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 last year. The company’s track record indicates that we shouldn’t expect a major camera revision two years in a row.
Other details about the Galaxy Z Fold 5 include that the phone will come with a dedicated slot for the S-Pen, and is implementing a new hinge design to decrease the screen crease and let the phone fold completely flat.
Lightfoot, NYC Mayor Pen Letter Demanding Colorado Gov. to Halt Bussing of Migrants to Chicago, NYC – NBC Chicago
Over three months since the first bus of asylum-seeking migrants arrived in Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and New York City Mayor Eric Adams penned a letter to Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, demanding the state stop bussing migrants to Chicago and New York.
The first bus of migrants arrived from Texas on Aug. 31, with dozens more buses arriving in Chicago since then. The bussing started as part of the controversial “Operation Lone Star” from Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has sent migrants to Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.
Additionally, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis flew asylum-seeking migrants to Martha’s Vineyard this fall, an island part of Massachusetts that is mostly known as a summer colony.
The letter from Lightfoot and Adams reads in part:
“It is apparent that the influx of asylum seekers has provoked consternation amongst states. Although we share the concerns of accommodating the flood of asylum seekers, overburdening other cities is not the solution. We respectfully demand that you cease and desist sending migrants to New York City and Chicago. Since December of 2022, Chicago and New York City have received hundreds of individuals from Colorado. Before the first bus arrived in either of our cities, we informed a Colorado official directly that neither city had any additional room to accommodate any more migrants because of the thousands of migrants that had already been inhumanely bused to our respective cities from Texas since spring of 2022.”
As of the most recent update given by city officials on Dec. 20, 2022, 3,854 asylum-seeking migrants have arrived in Chicago from Texas. In the full letter, Lightfoot said that more migrants have arrived into the city through other means, including buses from Colorado.
The letter from Lightfoot and Adams comes days after President Biden announced tougher border restrictions, with Cuban, Haitian and Nicaraguan migrants starting to be immediately turned away at the southern border.
In the past nine months, more than 36,400 migrants have been processed through New York City’s emergency intake system, adding that more were staying with family, friends and other networks, Adams said in the letter.
Adams adds that New York City is estimated to spend $1 billion in fiscal year 2023 on costs to address the asylum crisis, with the expense expected to grow with further exacerbation to the system.
The letter acknowledges New York and Chicago’s status as sanctuary cities while criticizing Polis for not taking decisive action to help migrants who had arrived in Colorado.
“Our understanding is that Colorado purports to be a welcoming state. At least as far as we are concerned, whether a welcoming state or welcoming city, the leaders must make sure that those values are lived in good times and especially in challenging times. That is what we have done and we urge you as governor of Colorado to do the same. We know it is hard because we have been facing these challenges for the last nine months. Colorado must reconsider its decision to send people, who are sheltered and receiving services from Denver-based community organizations, out of state, and particularly to cities like ours.“
“We have seen your statements in the media that you are simply accommodating the wishes of migrants to come to cities like New York City and Chicago. Both our cites are working tirelessly to ensure that migrants are able to reach their desired destinations where they are reunited with loved ones. However, you are sending migrants and families to New York City and Chicago that do not have any ties, family members or community networks to welcome them, and at a time where both cities are at maximum capacity in shelter space and available services.”
The letter then alleges that some of the migrants sent to New York City and Chicago had been in Colorado for weeks, some of whom had established connections at that point.
“The city of Denver is known nationally for providing some of the best services for unhoused populations—setting best practices throughout the country—it is unusual that you would deprive new arrivals from accessing those resources. In fact, many new arrivals from Colorado had been in your care for weeks, receiving services, and establishing connections only to be uprooted with a promise the receiving cities cannot keep.”
Lightfoot and Adams then plead with Polis to work with them on pressuring the federal government to adopt a solution to the burgeoning crisis that the letter calls “manufactured”, alluding to Abbott’s policy that has now been in effect for nine months.
“Let us work together to advocate to the federal government for a national solution that responds to this need. New York City and Chicago have always been cities of immigrants. While we are all grappling with a manufactured humanitarian crisis, we must all come together to address this nationwide problem and look forward to working together to meet this challenge.”
The full text of the letter can be read below:
Dear Governor Polis:
It is apparent that the influx of asylum seekers has provoked consternation amongst states. Although we share the concerns of accommodating the flood of asylum seekers, overburdening other cities is not the solution. We respectfully demand that you cease and desist sending migrants to New York City and Chicago. Since December of 2022, Chicago and New York City have received hundreds of individuals from Colorado. Before the first bus arrived in either of our cities, we informed a Colorado official directly that neither city had any additional room to accommodate any more migrants because of the thousands of migrants that had already been inhumanely bused to our respective cities from Texas since spring of 2022.
Despite this information, you have bused migrants to our cities. The buses have arrived, without any regard to either city’s ability to appropriately shelter them.
Our understanding is that Colorado purports to be a welcoming state. At least as far as we are concerned, whether a welcoming state or welcoming city, the leaders must make sure that those values are lived in good times and especially in challenging times. That is what we have done and we urge you as governor of Colorado to do the same. We know it is hard because we have been facing these challenges for the last nine months. Colorado must reconsider its decision to send people, who are sheltered and receiving services from Denver-based community organizations, out of state, and particularly to cities like ours.
We have seen your statements in the media that you are simply accommodating the wishes of migrants to come to cities like New York City and Chicago. Both our cites are working tirelessly to ensure that migrants are able to reach their desired destinations where they are reunited with loved ones. However, you are sending migrants and families to New York City and Chicago that do not have any ties, family members or community networks to welcome them, and at a time where both cities are at maximum capacity in shelter space and available services.
Since August 31, 2022, the City of Chicago has welcomed 3,854 migrants bused to its city from Texas and additional numbers of migrants who have arrived in Chicago through other means. In part, as hopefully you know, none of the asylum-seekers have work permits, and thus Chicago is currently providing services to over 1,600 individuals in its shelter system who have no place else to go. The City of Chicago is a welcoming city and is providing wrap around supports including emergency shelter; diversion services; necessities like food and showers; long-term housing; legal services; and both the physical and behavioral health support needs for individuals. Because of all these factors, its shelter system is now over capacity.
For the past nine months, New York City has welcomed an increase of asylum seekers. As of January 4, 2023, an estimated 36,400 asylum seekers have gone through New York City’s emergency intake system, with more staying with family, friends, and other networks. New York City has opened emergency shelters and Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers to meet this unprecedented need. New York City is providing many forms of support, including shelter, food, legal services, household items like clothing and health care, but its ability to provide services is strained. New York City’s shelters are over capacity. In fiscal year 2023 alone, New York City will spend about $1 billion to address the asylum crisis, and this number will continue to rise if current arrival trends persist.
We urge you to follow the best practices set by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that identifies receiving states as leads in providing housing and wrap-around services to asylum-seekers. Additionally, the city of Denver is known nationally for providing some of the best services for unhoused populations—setting best practices throughout the country—it is unusual that you would deprive new arrivals from accessing those resources. In fact, many new arrivals from Colorado had been in your care for weeks, receiving services, and establishing connections only to be uprooted with a promise the receiving cities cannot keep.
To reiterate, you must stop busing migrants to Chicago and New York City. In the case of family reunification, let us work together to ensure that people are reconnected with their loved ones, however sending migrants to our cities whose systems are over capacity, where they may struggle to find shelter and other services is wrong and further victimizes these most vulnerable individuals. These actions do not live up to the values of a proclaimed welcoming state and should stop immediately.
Instead, let us work together to advocate to the federal government for a national solution that responds to this need. New York City and Chicago have always been cities of immigrants. While we are all grappling with a manufactured humanitarian crisis, we must all come together to address this nationwide problem and look forward to working together to meet this challenge.
Sincerely,
Lori E. Lightfoot
Mayor
Chicago
Eric Adams
Mayor
New York City
Samsung aims to add S Pen slot to its future Galaxy Z Fold phones
Last updated: November 2nd, 2022 at 06:12 UTC+01:00
Samsung is, without a doubt, the undisputed king of foldable smartphones. The Galaxy Z Flip and the Galaxy Z Fold series of smartphones are the most successful foldable phones across the globe. And Samsung’s mobile business expects that the foldable smartphone market will grow by 80% by 2025.
During a meeting conducted by Samsung MX (via TheElec) in the third week of October 2022, parts suppliers were told that the foldable smartphone market will have an annual growth rate of up to 80% by 2025. Moreover, the company also added that it expects tech giant Apple to join the foldable space in 2024. However, entry will be with notebooks and tablets first and not with smartphones.
In the South Korean market, Samsung shared that the youth in their 20s and 30s were changing their devices from Apple to Samsung foldable phones. This is “at a rate three to four times higher than before.”
Samsung thinks foldable phones need to get thinner, lighter, and have less crease
Samsung also believes that 90% of foldable smartphone users will stick with the new form factor and will purchase a foldable smartphone as their next device. Industry sources reveal that the foldable smartphone market is a mere 1% of the total smartphone market. However, customers are showing high satisfaction levels towards foldable smartphones, and the sector is expected to grow “substantially.”
There are a few things that Samsung also noted that need to be revamped for foldable phones to become more popular. Notably, the size and weight of the foldable phones need to go down, they need to become more durable, and the crease on the screen needs to be reduced.
Also, there needs to be a slot for the S-Pen, as they are the ultimate productivity handheld devices. This is a feature that a lot of consumers are asking for. The company also wants to add improved cameras to its future foldable phones. Apparently, the company wanted to add flagship cameras to the Galaxy Z Fold 4, but it didn’t due to weight issues. Samsung also stressed the development of software that fits the 4:3 ratio screen on the fold series.
Monkeypox patient flees May Pen Hospital after jumping through window | News
The man who has been confirmed with the contagious monkeypox virus has fled the May Pen Hospital in Clarendon.
Police and health authorities do not know his whereabouts.
The man was under isolation.
Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says the man jumped through a bathroom window on Saturday and left in a car that was waiting for him.
The police visited his home but he was not found.
The car is being tracked.
Tufton says the action was “premeditated and planned”.
A subsequent statement from the Ministry of Health and Wellness said the man escaped some time after noon.
“Monkeypox is a viral disease that can be transmitted from person to person. It is therefore important that anyone with knowledge of the patient’s whereabouts contact the police so that he can be returned to isolation, pending the resolution of his illness,” said the statement, quoting Tufton.
In a Gleaner interview, he urged persons not to harm the man.
“The solution is not to try to apprehend or engage in any confrontation with any individual having these symptoms. The best thing is to call the police or the parish health authority,” he told The Gleaner.
Meanwhile, test results from a suspected case in St James have come back negative.
Tufton advised the country on July 6 that the virus was detected in Jamaica.
He said the man went to the public health system on July 5, having arrived on the island five days earlier from the United Kingdom.
Five facts about Monkeypox
* Monkeypox is caused by the monkeypox virus, a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae.
* Monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with symptoms lasting from 2 to 4 weeks.
* Monkeypox is transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal, or with material contaminated with the virus.
* Monkeypox virus is transmitted from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding.
* Monkeypox typically presents clinically with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications.
Source: World Health Organization
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Holding your pen can indicate risk of Alzheimer’s: researchers
How you hold a pen could indicate your risk of Alzheimer’s — the biggest killer in the UK, a study has found.
Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, causes a person to slowly lose their memory and ability to carry out daily tasks.
It progresses over many years and therefore can be difficult to spot.
But there are some early cues in a person’s behavior that can signal potential looming diagnosis, from bad parking to a change of humor.
A newly identified red flag could be if your Grandma’s handwriting in your birthday card is a little wobbly.
Pen and paper tests are often used by a GP to diagnose Alzhehemier’s, and require a person to draw a shape such as a star, or a clock face, from memory.
The less able they are to do it, the more likely they have dementia.
Researchers from the University of Tsukuba, Japan, have now discovered other signs in pen and paper tests that could appear much earlier on.
They recruited 144 people with varying levels of cognitive ability, including some with dementia and some who were completely healthy.
Each participant went through five different drawing tests which measured 22 features of drawing.
These included pen pressure, pen posture, speed and how often the person paused.
The researchers then compared these features and used a computer-based program to see how well the drawing traits could be used to identify people with or without normal cognition.
Some of the patients had mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which is when someone has memory loss a little worse than ageing, but not as severe as dementia.
They are still able to perform day-to-day activities.
The researchers were able to spot those with MCI or Azlheimer’s based on their drawing style.
They had greater variability on pen pressure, meaning some lines were smooth and strong, while others were weak and wobbly.
They paused for longer and their speed was slower.
The accuracy of the five tests all together for detecting people who had Alzheimer’s was 75.2 percent all together.
Professor Tetsuaki Arai, senior author of the study, said: “Although it’s clear that motion- and pause-related drawing traits can be used to screen for cognitive impairments, most screening tests remain relatively inaccurate.
“We wondered what might happen if we were to analyze these traits while people performed a range of different drawing tasks.
“The three-group classification accuracy of all five tests was 75.2 percent, which was almost 10 percent better than that of any of the tests by themselves.”
Alzheimer’s disease affects an estimated one in 14 people over the age of 65 and one in every six people over the age of 80.
It is not a normal part of aging, and leads to a person forgetting simple things such as how to tie a shoelace or tell the time.
But at its worst, patients will forget their partner of decades or own children, which is devastating to watch.
The disease is incurable, but there are medicines to relieve symptoms.
An early diagnosis helps a person to plan their future while they can still make decisions.
This story originally appeared on The Sun and has been reproduced here with permission.
2022 French election: Voters pick between Macron and Le Pen
PARIS (AP) — French polling agencies are projecting that centrist President Emmanuel Macron will win France’s presidential runoff Sunday, beating far-right rival Marine Le Pen in a tight race that was overshadowed by the war in Ukraine and saw a surge in French support for extremist ideas.
If the projections are borne out by official results, Macron would be the first French president in 20 years to win a second term, since Jacques Chirac in 2002. But he would face a divided nation and a battle to keep his parliamentary majority in legislative elections in June.
Five years ago, Macron won a sweeping victory to become France’s youngest president at 39. The margin is expected to be way smaller this time: Polling agencies Opinionway, Harris and Ifop projected that Macron would win between 57% and 58.5% percent of the vote, with Le Pen getting between 41.5% and 43%.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
PARIS (AP) — From bucolic villages to humming cities, French voters on Sunday were choosing between two radically different futures for their country, with President Emmanuel Macron offering a centrist pro-European outlook if he is reelected while far-right challenger Marine Le Pen is pledging seismic changes for France and its allies if she becomes the country’s first female leader.
All this is taking place amid the fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has sent prices for food, fuel and other essential goods skyrocketing in France, a European Union country that has seen heated protests in recent years over economic inequalities.
The biggest unknown was how voters who backed the 10 other presidential candidates eliminated in round one will vote this time — or even if they will vote at all. The second round is a winner-take-all presidential runoff between the two familiar rivals who also faced each other in 2017.
With just three hours before the last voting stations closed, turnout was 63% — down two points compared with the same time five years ago.
Many French voters have found the 2022 rematch less compelling than in 2017, when Macron was an unknown factor, having never previously held elected office. Leftist voters — unable to identify with either the centrist president or Le Pen’s fiercely nationalist platform — were agonizing with the choice on Sunday. Some trooped reluctantly to polling stations solely to stop Le Pen, casting joyless votes for Macron.
“It was the least worst choice,” said Stephanie David, a transport logistics worker who backed a communist candidate in round one.
It was an impossible choice for retiree Jean-Pierre Roux. Having also voted communist in round one, he dropped an empty envelope into the ballot box on Sunday, repelled both by Le Pen’s politics and what he saw as Macron’s arrogance.
“I am not against his ideas but I cannot stand the person,” Roux said.
Seeking to become France’s first president in 20 years to win reelection, Macron, 44, went into the vote with a sizeable lead in polls but unable to guarantee victory from a fractured, anxious and tired electorate. The war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic battered Macron’s first term, as did months of violent protests against his economic policies.
The upheavals created fertile ground for Le Pen, who is making her third attempt to become France’s first woman president. Campaigning hard on cost-of-living issues, she made deep inroads among blue-collar voters, in disaffected rural communities and former industrial centers.
Even if the 53-year-old Le Pen stops short of the presidential Elysee Palace, a high score Sunday would still be a victory of sorts for the far right. Macron beat Le Pen handily in 2017 — 66% to 34% — but the result is expected to be closer this time.
So close that some voters felt compelled to turn out Sunday to block her ascent.
Marian Arbre, voting in Paris, cast his ballot for Macron “to avoid a government that finds itself with fascists, racists.”
“There’s a real risk,” the 29-year-old fretted.
As the only nuclear-armed power in the European Union, the outcome in France was being watched across the 27-nation bloc, which — with Russia’s war in Ukraine — is grappling with its worst security crisis since World War II. France has played a leading role in international efforts to punish Russia with sanctions and is supplying weapons systems to Ukraine. Le Pen’s ties to Russia became an issue during the campaign, raising questions as to how she would deal with the Kremlin if elected.
Nearly 49 million voters are eligible to cast ballots. Early results are expected Sunday night.
Le Pen voted in the northern town of Henin-Beaumont, in France’s struggling former industrial heartland.
“I am serene,” she said. “I have confidence in the French.”
Macron voted in the resort town of Le Touquet on the English Channel and cast his ballot with a wink for the cameras.
Appealing to working-class voters struggling with surging prices, Le Pen has vowed that bringing down the cost of living would be her priority if elected. She argued that Macron’s presidency left the country deeply divided, pointing to the yellow vest protest movement that rocked his government before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Macron sought to appeal to voters of immigrant heritage and religious minorities, especially because of Le Pen’s proposed policies targeting Muslims and putting French citizens first in line for jobs and benefits.
Macron also touted his environmental and climate accomplishments to trawl for young voters who backed left-wing candidates in round one but were often ambivalent at best, sickened at worst, about the runoff match-up. Macron said his next prime minister would be put in charge of environmental planning as France seeks to become carbon neutral by 2050.
Le Pen, once considered a climate-change skeptic, wants to scrap subsidies for renewable energies. She has vowed to dismantle wind farms and invest in nuclear and hydro energy.
___
Associated Press journalists Thomas Adamson and Elaine Ganley in Paris, Michel Spingler in Henin-Beaumont, and Alex Turnbull in Le Touquet, contributed.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the French election at https://apnews.com/hub/french-election-2022
Macron or Le Pen: France faces stark choice for president
Official campaign posters of French presidential election candidates Marine le Pen, leader of French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National) party, and French President Emmanuel Macron, candidate for his re-election are displayed on an official billboard in Montchevreuil, France, April 20, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
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PARIS, April 24 (Reuters) – The French began voting on Sunday in an election that will decide whether pro-European Union, centrist President Emmanuel Macron keeps his job or is unseated by far-right eurosceptic Marine Le Pen in what would amount to a political earthquake.
Opinion polls in recent days gave Macron a solid and slightly growing lead as analysts said Le Pen – despite her efforts to soften her image and tone down some of her National Rally party’s policies – remained unpalatable for many.
But a surprise Le Pen victory could not be ruled out, given the high numbers of voters who were undecided or not sure if they would vote at all in the presidential runoff.
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With polls showing neither candidate able to count on enough committed supporters, much will depend on a cohort of voters who are weighing up anxiety about the implications of a far-right presidency against anger at Macron’s record since his 2017 election.
If Le Pen does win, it would likely carry the same sense of stunning political upheaval as the British vote to leave the European Union or the U.S. election of Donald Trump in 2016.
Polls opened at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) and will close at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT). Initial projections by pollsters are expected as soon as polls close.
In Douai, a mid-sized town in northern France where Le Pen was ahead of Macron in the first round of voting two weeks ago, pensioner Andrée Loeuillet, 69, said she had voted for Macron, as she did on April 10.
“He has his faults but he has qualities too. He is the one best placed to continue, we are living through difficult times,” she said.
Macron, 44 and the winner in the same matchup five years ago, has warned of “civil war” if Le Pen – whose policies include a ban on wearing Muslim headscarves in public – is elected and has called on democrats of all stripes to back him.
Le Pen, 53, focused her campaign on the rising cost of living in the world’s seventh largest economy, which many French say has worsened with the surge in global energy prices. She has also zeroed in on Macron’s abrasive leadership style, which she says shows an elitist contempt for ordinary people.
“The question on Sunday is simple: Macron or France,” she told a rally in the northern town of Arras on Thursday.
Among early voters in the village of Souille, near the northwestern town of Le Mans, civil servant Pascal Pauloin, 56, said he had voted for Le Pen out of disenchantment with Macron.
“Frankly, I am very disappointed. Our France has not been working well for years. Macron has done nothing for the middle classes, and the gap with the rich is getting ever wider,” he said.
Le Pen, who has also been criticised by Macron for her past admiration of Russian President Vladimir Putin, rejects accusations of racism. She said her plans to give priority to French citizens for social housing and jobs and scrap a number of welfare benefits for foreigners would benefit all French, independently of their religion or origins.
Jean-Daniel Levy, of Harris Interactive pollsters, said opinion surveys showed Le Pen was unlikely to win, because that would require huge shifts in voter intentions.
If Macron prevails he will face a difficult second term, with none of the grace period that he enjoyed after his first victory, and protests likely over his plan to continue pro-business reforms, including raising the retirement age from 62 to 65.
If she unseats him, Le Pen would seek to make radical changes to France’s domestic and international policies, and street protests could start immediately. Shockwaves would be felt across Europe and beyond.
Whoever comes out on top, a first major challenge will be to win parliamentary elections in June to secure a workable majority to implement their programmes.
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Additional reporting by Michel Rose, Leigh Thomas, Juliette Jabkhiro and Gus Tropmiz; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Mark John, Frances Kerry and Raissa Kasolowsky
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French election: Macron in pole position, Le Pen racing hard
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is in the pole position to win reelection Sunday in the country’s presidential runoff, yet his lead over far-right rival Marine Le Pen depends on one major uncertainty: voters who could decide to stay home.
A Macron victory in this vote — which could have far-reaching repercussions for Europe’s future direction and Western efforts to stop the war in Ukraine — would make him the first French president in 20 years to win a second term.
All opinion polls in recent days converge toward a win for the 44-year-old pro-European centrist — yet the margin over his nationalist rival varies broadly, from 6 to 15 percentage points, depending on the poll. Polls also forecast a possibly record-high number of people who will either cast a blank vote or not vote at all.
Overseas French territories allowed voters to start casting ballots Saturday in polling stations that ranged from near the Caribbean shore in the Antilles to the savannahs of French Guiana on the South American coast.
Back on the French mainland, workers assembled a stage Saturday beneath the Eiffel Tower where Macron is expected to make his post-election speech, win or lose.
France’s April 10 first-round vote eliminated 10 other presidential candidates, and who becomes the country’s next leader — Macron or Le Pen — will largely depend on what supporters of those losing candidates do on Sunday.
The question is a hard one, especially for leftist voters who dislike Macron but don’t want to see Le Pen in power either. Macron issued multiple appeals to leftist voters in recent days in hopes of securing their support.
“Think about what British citizens were saying a few hours before Brexit or (people) in the United States before Trump’s election happened: ‘I’m not going, what’s the point?’ I can tell you that they regretted it the next day,” Macron warned this week on France 5 television.
“So if you want to avoid the unthinkable … choose for yourself!” he urged hesitant French voters.
The two rivals were combative in the final days before Sunday’s election, clashing Wednesday in a one-on-one televised debate. No campaigning is allowed through the weekend, and polling is banned.
Macron argued that the loan Le Pen’s far-right party received in 2014 from a Czech-Russian bank made her unsuitable to deal with Moscow amid its invasion of Ukraine. He also said her plans to ban Muslim women in France from wearing headscarves in public would trigger “civil war” in the country that has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe.
“When someone explains to you that Islam equals Islamism equals terrorism equals a problem, that is clearly called the far-right,” Macron declared Friday on France Inter radio.
In his victory speech in 2017, Macron had promised to “do everything” during his five-year term so that the French “have no longer any reason to vote for the extremes.”
Five years later, that challenge has not been met. Le Pen has consolidated her place on France’s political scene after rebranding herself as less extreme.
Le Pen’s campaign this time has sought to appeal to voters struggling with surging food and energy prices amid the fallout of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The 53-year-old candidate said bringing down the cost of living would be a top priority if she was elected as France’s first woman president.
She criticized Macron’s “calamitous” presidency in her last rally in the northern town of Arras.
“I’m not even mentioning immigration or security for which, I believe, every French person can only note the failure of the Macron’s policies … his economic record is also catastrophic,” she declared.
Political analyst Marc Lazar, head of the History Center at Sciences Po, said even if Macron is reelected, “there is a big problem,” he added. “A great number of the people who are going to vote for Macron, they are not voting for this program, but because they reject Marine Le Pen.”
He said that means Macron will face a “big level of mistrust” in the country.
Macron has vowed to change the French economy to make it more independent while still protecting social benefits. He said he will also keep pushing for a more powerful Europe.
His first term was rocked by the yellow vest protests against social injustice, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. It notably forced Macron to delay a key pension reform, which he said he would relaunch soon after reelection, to gradually raise France’s minimum retirement age from 62 to 65. He says that’s the only way to keep benefits flowing to retirees.
The French presidential election is also being closely watched abroad.
In several European newspapers on Thursday, the center-left leaders of Germany, Spain and Portugal urged French voters to choose him over his nationalist rival. They raised a warning about “populists and the extreme right” who hold Putin “as an ideological and political model, replicating his chauvinist ideas.”
A Le Pen victory would be a “traumatic moment, not only for France, but for European Union and for international relationships, especially with the USA,” Lazar said, noting that Le Pen “wants a distant relationship between France and the USA.”
In any case, Sunday’s winner will soon face another obstacle in governing France: A legislative election in June will decide who controls a majority of seats in France’s National Assembly.
Already, the battles promise to be hard-fought.
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AP Journalists Catherine Gaschka and Jeffrey Schaeffer contributed to that story.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the French election at https://apnews.com/hub/french-election-2022
French election 2022 live: Latest polls as Macron and Le Pen offer final pitches to nation
Watch live as French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen holds rally in Arras
Emmanuel Macron maintains a 12 point poll lead over Marine Le Pen, the far-right challenger in the French presidential election, after a heated television debate on Wednesday night.
As the election campaign entered its final days both candidates returned to the campaign trail to drum up what support they could before the vote on Sunday.
Mr Macron, the centrist president hoping for re-election, visited the Saint-Denis suburb of Paris while Ms Le Pen, who positions herself as a voice of the neglected working class, was in the northern industrial region of Hauts-de-France.
In Saint-Denis, the president warned the crowd against his opponent, saying: “We must not get used to the rise of far-right ideas”.
Ms Le Pen, at a rally in the city of Arras, accused Mr Macron of “unlimited arrogance” in both Wednesday’s debate and the five years of his presidency. She said he was soft on immigration and called his economic record “catastrophic”.
Leaders of Germany, Spain and Portugal backed Mr Macron on Thursday.
Marine Le Pen pushing out messages on social media
Marine Le Pen’s Twitter account is being very active this morning, sharing clips from interviews and campaign pictures every 10 minutes or so:
“I want to fight against Islamism”
Ms Len Pen promises zero tolerance on crime and to deport foreign offenders
“I will make savings on immigration by giving child benefits only to French people, by limiting family reunification”
Zoe Tidman22 April 2022 09:41
Macron says EU cannot allow new iron curtain
Some more from Emmanuel Macron’s media interviews this morning.
The president said the EU nations must not allow a new iron curtain to fall across the continent – but it was also important to take account of differing views within the bloc towards Russia and the war in Ukraine.
Zoe Tidman22 April 2022 08:58
Marine Le Pen says she has ‘spent eight months trying to drag French away from abstention’
Both candidates are doing media rounds as the election approaches.
“I’ve spent eight months in this presidential campaign trying to drag French out of abstention,” Marine Le Pen said this morning.
The far-right leader said she believed the split between the French people and their representatives can be closed with “democratic utensils” including proportional representation and referendums triggered by the population itselfs.
Zoe Tidman22 April 2022 08:49
Le Pen drawing on anger I haven’t quelled, Macron says
Emmanuel Macron has said he had not managed to quell some of the anger felt in the country and that his far-right rival Marine Le Pen was using some of that in her campaign.
“And there we have it. She has made some progress, she has covered herself up by turning this into our problem, and she has managed to draw on this,” the president – hoping to be re-elected at the weekend – told France Inter radio.
Zoe Tidman22 April 2022 08:05
Tory and Brexit supporters back far-right Marine Le Pen, poll suggests
Conservative and Brexit supporters want far-right candidate Marine Le Pen to become president of France, a poll by YouGov has suggested.
At least 37 per cent of Tory voters backed the right-wing leader, while just 24 per cent support the centrist Emmanuel Macron.
The two will go head-to-head in a critical run-off on Sunday, with polls putting Mr Macron as little as six points ahead of his rival.
The margin is even greater among Leave voters at the 2016 Brexit referendum, who prefer Ms Le Pen over the current president by 35 per cent to 19 per cent.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar22 April 2022 07:30
Le Pen calls on voters to choose ‘between Macron and France’
At her final campaign rally in Arras, far-right candidate Marine Le Pen urged voters to choose between “Macron and France”.
“To block [Macron], you cannot abstain, you must vote,” she told her supporters, according to France24.
She added: “You must vote for the only front that is truly republican, the anti-Macron front.”
Slamming her opponent’s “unbounded arrogance”, Ms Le Pen projected herself as a nationalist “president who will respect the French” compared to Mr Macron “who does not like them”.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar22 April 2022 07:00
Macron and Le Pen make last effort to win presidential race
Incumbent French president Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen made a last-ditch effort on Thursday to woo voters ahead of Sunday’s presidential election.
While Ms Le Pen headed to her stronghold in Arras, Mr Macron visited the multicultural Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, where the far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon made massive inroads during the first-round vote.
According to French election rules, all campaigning must end by Friday midnight.
Following Wednesday’s fiery marathon debate, Mr Macron has a six to 13 point lead over Ms Le Pen, according to the latest opinion polls.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar22 April 2022 06:28
Macron warns Muslim voters against consequences of electing Le Pen
Incumbent French president Emmanuel Macron in the last leg of the campaign tried to woo disaffected left-wing voters and warned them against the consequences on the Muslim community if his far-right rival Marine Le Pen is voted to power.
While visiting the multicultural Paris commune of Saint-Denis, Mr Macron accused his rival of trying to exclude foreign citizens from social housing, Politico reported.
As an example, he said, “a young Moroccan lady who has two children, who work at the hospital, who was applauded every evening during the pandemic … with Madame Le Pen’s program, we will take away her social housing and her family benefits”.
“It’s a programme of discord,” Mr Macron added while slamming Ms Le Pen for “mixing up terrorism, insecurity, immigration, Islam and Islamism all the time”.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar22 April 2022 05:19
When will the French election results be announced?
France’s electorate goes to the polls on Sunday 24 April to decide who will be the next president (Joe Sommerlad writes).
An exit poll is expected to be published at 7pm GMT on Sunday with the official final results announced the following day.
Mr Macron secured 27.8 per cent of the vote 11 days ago to Ms Le Pen’s 23.1 per cent and is currently leading in opinion polls by as much as 56 per cent to 44 per cent, although Sunday’s ballot is expected to prove a close contest nonetheless.
Liam James22 April 2022 03:00
Macron wins TV debate but sounded arrogant, say French voters
French voters believe President Emmanuel Macron was the big winner of the televised political debate with far-right challenger Marine Le Pen, but they also believe he came across as arrogant, according to a poll (Borzhou Daragahi writes).
The survey, conducted by the firm Elabe for France’s BFM television channel and L’Express magazine, indicated that 59 per cent of watchers viewed Mr Macron as the winner of the fiery confrontation with Ms Le Pen, who was seen as the winner by just 39 per cent.
The French leader, according to numerous polls, is expected to win Sunday’s vote with between 52 and 56 per cent of the vote. But Ms Le Pen, who won only a third of votes in a 2017 election match-up against Mr Macron, remains within striking distance, and a surprise victory for the challenger cannot be ruled out.
Among supporters of leftwing first-round presidential contender Jean-Luc Melenchon, 61 per cent saw Mr Macron as the winner of the debate as opposed to 36 per cent who regarded Ms Le Pen as the winner.
Liam James22 April 2022 02:00