Poll: Marine Le Pen Is Rejected by Fewer French Voters Than in September

The second edition of a monthly survey by the polling institute Cluster 17 for POLITICO, measuring how strongly French voters reject potential candidates in the 2027 presidential election, shows Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally (RN) is now the candidate fewest people rule out voting for. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI), is rejected more often than in September.

The poll was conducted from 19 to 22 October, right after the looting and rioting of 17 October. It surveyed 3,000 people, asking them to rate on a scale of 0 to 10 how likely they were to vote "one day" for each candidate. The margin of error is between 0.8 and 1.8 points.

Who is rejected most

Every tested candidate is still ruled out by a majority of respondents. Green Party leader Marine Tondelier tops the list at 71% (+3 points), level with Éric Zemmour. Mélenchon stands at 69%, up from 66% in September. Cluster 17 president Jean-Yves Dormagen argues the October violence pushed some people to the right.

Le Pen is categorically rejected by 52% (−4), the same as social democrat Raphaël Glucksmann. Former interior minister Bruno Retailleau stands at 54% (−4), and former prime minister Édouard Philippe at 56%.

Difficulties for the centre

Gabriel Attal, the candidate of President Emmanuel Macron's camp, is rejected by 59% (+3). Dormagen attributes this to a question of legitimacy: people struggle to understand why he is running. Former president François Hollande, tested for the first time, is rejected by 61%.

A glimmer of hope

Respondents were also asked about their priority. Only 14% say their main aim is to defeat the Macron-aligned camp, while 43% want to stop LFI and 30% want to stop the RN. That gives the centre some hope, though it must first reach the runoff.