Emmanuel Macron has turned to Brexit in a last-ditch attempt bid to galvanise his voters to turn out in tomorrow’s European Parliament elections.
In one of his final pleas to his supporters before the vote, the French leader urged them to avoid the mistakes of Britons who failed to cast a ballot against Brexit. Mr Macron said electoral turnout could hand power to the far-right.
Mr Macron was criticised for issuing his desperate appeal after attending the D-Day commemorations on Thursday.
He said: “Come on, go vote on June 9, it is very important. I say this because I always think back to our British friends who did not go to vote on Brexit day. Not going to vote is leaving the future of our continent and our country to others.”
Mr Macron’s campaign has repeatedly warned that the EU is in “mortal danger” if the far-right sweeps to victory, as expected, in tomorrow’s vote.
They have claimed a vote for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party is a vote for ‘Frexit’ by stealth since it will “block” any EU political moves.
Mr Macron said voting can “help France be stronger in Europe and to help Europe be stronger in protecting France”.
He said: “If France sends a very big far-Right delegation, if other big countries do this, Europe could be blocked.”
He even suggested that a far-right bloc in the European Parliament could lead to even more illegal immigration since the EU would not be able to coordinate a response to the crisis.
Mr Macron warned: “If tomorrow you have the far Right with a blocking minority in Europe, in the face of the illegal immigration we are suffering, you will no longer have laws that protect us because they believe in a nationalist response and not a European one.”
However, it does not appear as if Mr Macron’s last-ditch attempts to slow the National Rally’s momentum have worked.
The incumbent leader is expected to face an electoral humiliation at the European Parliament ballot.
Jordan Bardella, the candidate from Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party, is leading the race with 32 percent support in the latest polls. Valérie Hayer, the candidate from Mr Macron’s Renaissance Party, is lagging with just 16 percent.
Mr Macron is far from the first member of his campaign team to use Brexit during the campaign.
Last week, Gabriel Attal, his prime minister, warned: “Don’t be like the British who cried after Brexit.”
Mr Attal referred to recent UK polls showing that, if there was a repeat of the 2016 referendum on EU membership, Britain would vote to stay.
The French PM said there was “more illegal immigration than ever” and “massive economic problems” in the UK.
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