Two polls published on Sunday showed the Socialist candidate — whether Hollande or Valls — would be ejected in the round of the presidential election with Fillon beating Le Pen in both rounds to seal victory.

In a scenario where Hollande runs alongside his former adviser Macron, Fillon would win the first round with 32 per cent of the vote against 22 per cent for Le Pen and 8 per cent for the president, according to a poll by Odoxa for France 2 television. In the run-off two weeks later, he would defeat Le Pen 71 per cent to 20 per cent. Odoxa surveyed 998 voters on November 25 and the margin of error of 2.5 per cent.

Bookmakers have also downgraded the chances of Le Pen becoming the next president since Fillon emerged as the Republicans’ likely candidate, with Labrokes Plc offering odds of 5-to-2 against the National Front leader. That gives Le Pen a 29 per cent chance of winning, compared with 36 per cent before the first round of the Republican primaries

source : gulfnews