Rabat – French expatriates in Morocco backed candidates Jean-Luc Melenchon and current President Emmanuel Macron in the first round of France’s election on Sunday.
Out of 80,000 French people living in Morocco, only 17,262 chose to vote on April 10, in offices in five cities: Rabat, Tangier, Agadir, Fez, Marrakech and Casablanca.
Melenchon was most popular and ranked first with 6,947 votes (40.24%), followed by Emmanuel Macron with 6538 votes (37.88%), according to the preliminary results from France’s Interior Minister.
The President of La France Insoumise (LFI), a left-wing populist political party in France, received 416 votes in Tangier where he was born, almost double the vote that went to Macron (216 votes).
Melenchon was the most voted candidate in Rabat with nearly half of the votes (48.05%), Fes (42.82%), and Casablanca (41.65%).
Meanwhile, Macron took the lead in Marrakech (40.33% of votes) and Agadir (34.85% of votes), ahead of the LFI candidate who got 25% and 28% of the votes respectively.
The far-right candidate Eric Zemmour only received 150 votes across Morocco (6%), while Marine Le Pen got 4% of votes (110).
In France, Macron and Marine Le Pen secured the most votes in the first round of the presidential campaign, and the two candidates will have to face each other in the second round in two weeks.
According to numerous analyses, Marine Le Pen and the far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon have been making progress for several days, significantly narrowing the gap with Emmanuel Macron, who entered the campaign late.
In Sunday’s first round of the election, over 34% of young people aged 18 to 24 voted for Melenchon while 24% of pensioners backed outgoing President Macron, according to Harris Interactive Institute.
Macron is also the most supported candidate among 50-64 year olds (28.1%), ahead of the National Rally candidate Le Pen (27%) and La France Insoumise party (18.2%).
Melenchon is supported by 27% of people aged 25 to 34 but lacks votes among 35-49 year olds with (19.8%).
The far-right candidate Le Pen wins in the age groups between 25 and 49 years with 18%.
