Macron's 'party set for landslide in French poll'

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron's party is set for a large lead in the first round of a parliamentary election this month, putting it on course to secure one of the biggest majorities modern France has seen, an Ipsos Sopra-Steria poll showed on Tuesday.
Macron's Republic On The Move (LREM) was seen winning 29.5 percent of the vote in the June 11 first round, well ahead of The Republicans and their allies of the centre-right at 23 percent.
The far right National Front was seen winning 17 percent of the vote while the hard-left France Unbowed was at 12.5 percent and the Socialists at 8.5 percent.
LREM's lead narrowed from 31 percent the last time the poll was conducted a week ago after Macron's former campaign chief and now a cabinet minister came under investigation for past financial dealings.
The poll forecast that in the second round Macron's party would secure 385-415 seats in parliament out of 577 seats, potentially the biggest majority since former president Charles de Gaulle's 1968 landslide victory.
The Republicans party would win 105-125, the Socialists 25-25 seats, the hard left France Unbowed 12-22 seats and the National Front 5-15 seats, the projection said.
The poll, conducted on June 2-4 with a sample of 2,103 people, also found that 68 percent of those surveyed had definitely made up their minds about whom they would vote for, while the number was 75 percent for those backing Macron's party.
Meanwhile, investigators have raided the headquarters of a medical insurance group in western France, local media reported, part of a probe into the financial dealings of one of Macron's closest allies days before a parliamentary election.
The investigation is embarrassing for Macron who has put political probity front and centre of his first weeks in power, ahead of legislative elections where Macron hopes his new party will win control of parliament and cement his grip on power.
The search was carried out on Thursday after the public prosecutor in Brest launched a preliminary investigation into allegations against Richard Ferrand, focused on his management of Mutuelles de Bretagne, regional daily Telegramme reported on Tuesday.
The allegations include renting office space from his partner and hiring his son as an assistant paid from parliamentary funds.
Ferrand, who was Macron's campaign chief and is now a cabinet minister, has denied wrongdoing. He has the backing of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who has said Ferrand's actions might raise moral questions but not judicial ones and that he sees no reason to ask him to resign.
Hiring family members as parliamentary assistants is not illegal in France but is increasingly scorned upon by the public.
Last week Justice Minister Francois Bayrou presented to Cabinet a draft ethics law aimed at cleaning up politics in France.
"With this law in place, such a thing would not happen," Bayrou told BFM TV on Tuesday.
"The idea to change the way people behave in public life was a pillar of Macron's campaign."