Six weeks after the presidential election in April, the three candidates who came out on top find themselves in the legislative elections, with the winner Emmanuel Macron who indirectly faces the RN Marine Le Pen and the rebellious Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

But this time, the duel has settled between Emmanuel Macron’s camp and the left-wing alliance formed around Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI-PS-EELV-PCF), which the polls give neck and neck, with abstention as arbitrator. It could reach a new record, between 52 and 56%, beyond the 51.3% of June 11, 2017.

According to an Elabe survey for BFMTV and Express published on Friday, the presidential coalition would gain 2.5 points in one week to 27% of the vote and Nupes 1.5 points to 26.5%.

Marine Le Pen’s RN would collect 19.5% (down 2.5 points), an inversion between Mr. Mélenchon and Mrs. Le Pen compared to the first round of the presidential election.

Far behind, come the right, with 11% for Les Républicains and the UDI (-1.5 points), and Reconquest! (4.5%), the far-right formation led by Eric Zemmour, who presents himself in the Var.

Further reinforced by a breakthrough in the vote of French people living abroad, Jean-Luc Mélenchon keeps repeating that he intends to make the legislative “a third round”, hoping to be “Prime Minister” in the event of a majority of the Nupes .

The challenge for the Head of State, who made four trips during the campaign, is to renew a “strong and clear” majority in the National Assembly, as he reiterated Thursday in the Tarn, in order to to carry out its program during its second five-year term.

To achieve this, the Ensemble! (LREM, MoDem, Horizons and Agir) must win at least 289 of the 577 seats, an objective that the polls present as uncertain. In terms of seat projections for the second round, the polls give an advantage to the macronists who would come out on top, but without certainty of obtaining an absolute majority.

And therefore “the real useful vote on Sunday is the LR vote”, estimates Xavier Bertrand in Le Figaro, affirming that only the Republicans can force Emmanuel Macron to “rebalance” his policy “in terms of security”, “of migration policy or even “debt reduction”.

For the time being, Emmanuel Macron has chosen to pose, as during the presidential election, as a bulwark against “the extremes”, sending the radical left and the far right back to back.

Same strategy Thursday evening of the Minister in charge of Relations with Parliament, Olivier Véran, who defended the presidential project under fire from the opposition in a debate on France 2.

Having fun with the “febrility” of the presidential camp, Jean-Luc Mélenchon goes to Marseille on Friday for a final speech in the 4th constituency of Bouches-du-Rhône, for a handover with his campaign director, Manuel Bompard who shows up there.

As for Marine Le Pen, she will be in Hénin-Beaumont in her constituency of Pas-de-Calais where she held the only campaign meeting last Sunday.

In order to support the candidates of his party, the boss of the Republicans, Christian Jacob, has planned to go to Montargis, in the Loiret, where the former Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer is presenting himself on a stronghold of the right.

If Emmanuel Macron has not planned to travel for this last day of the campaign, the 14 members of the government who are running for the legislative elections will occupy the field, like Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, who will distribute leaflets in Vire, in the constituency of Calvados where she is in the running.

The ministers who will be beaten will have to leave the government, in accordance with a rule already applied in 2017 by President Emmanuel Macron.

Nearly 6,300 candidates are in the running for 577 seats, or 20% less than in 2017, due in particular to the agreement on the left.