Apr 24, 2017

French bellwether town backs Le Pen

The French town of Donzy that has correctly predicted presidential elections for the past four decades went for Marine Le Pen, the right-wing nationalist, in the first round.

Data: FranceInfo; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon / Axios
Data: FranceInfo; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon / Axios

Breaking down the numbers: Emmanuel Macron, a centrist and former economy minister, won nationally by about 2%, but Donzy backed Le Pen by more than 7%.

Why it matters: Donzy has historically been a bellwether, and if it's right this year we're just two weeks from President Le Pen. That's despite predictions from top pollsters that Macron will win easily. That said, neither Macron nor Le Pen are representing traditional parties, so the Donzy Rule may not hold.

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