As the French presidential election faces its decisive second round this Sunday, a poll has shown that so far Protestant Christians have shown the highest support for Emmanuel Macron of any faith group.
The election is now between independent centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. In the first round of the vote, Macron received 24 per cent of the vote, Le Pen received 21 per cent, and the two were followed by conservative François Fillon at 20 per cent, left-wing Jean-Luc Mélenchon at 19 per cent and socialist Benoit Hamon at just 6 per cent).
A survey by the French Institute of Public Opinion for Pèlerin Magazine found that 30 per cent of French voters who identify as Protestants, including evangelicals, voted for Macron in the first round, according to Evangelical Focus.
Twenty per cent of Protestants voted for Le Pen, another 20 per cent for with Fillon, while 16 per cent chose Mélenchon.
For Roman Catholics, Fillon was the favourite, followed by Macron, Le Pen and Mélenchon.
Le Pen found minimal support from Muslim voters, with nearly four in ten favouring Mélenchon.
Three in ten of the non-religious also supported Mélenchon, with more than two in ten backing Macron and Le Pen.
Jewish and Muslim leaders have lamented Le Pen's success in getting through to the contest's second round, and warned voters now to reject the 'dangerous' candidate.
Dalil Boubakeur, the rector of Paris's Grand Mosque, described the final May 7 vote as 'decisive for the destiny of France and its religious minorities'.
Writing for Christian Today, French pastor David Buick called the vote a 'clear choice' between a France that is 'withdrawn, protectionist, and nationalistic, or open, European, and reformist'.
The European Evangelical Alliance implored prayer for a divided and politically disillusioned country.
