A politician vying to become France’s first female leader is hoping to boost her declining fortunes in the campaign so far with her first major rally.
Less than 60 days from the first round, Valérie Pécresse, 54, is struggling to take off in the polls — despite having had an initial boost last year when she was picked to be the French conservatives’ first female presidential candidate.
The fact that Pécresse has not held any major launch rallies like other candidates, owing to virus concerns, seems to have hurt her. She is stalling in popularity behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen and frontrunner President Emmanuel Macron who has still not officially declared his candidacy.
On Sunday in the Zenith Arena in Paris Pécresse, is trying to reverse that. The head of the Paris region and former conservative minister is aiming to brandish her credentials for the job: An experienced politician, Pécresse, has been the minister for higher education, for the budget and was a government spokesperson under former President Nicolas Sarkozy from 2007 to 2012.
If elected by French voters, Pécresse vowed to “break” with the centrist policies of incumbent Macron, who is expected to seek a second term. She also warned voters against backing far-right candidates, arguing that only the conservatives can unite the French people and ease tensions in the country.
Pécresse said her first action as president would be to end France’s 35-hour workweek so employees can work and earn more. She also has backed a tough stance on immigration, saying that people who entered the country illegally should be deported.
