Unrest in France Erodes Support for Centrist Candidate Édouard Philippe

Support for Édouard Philippe, the leading candidate from France's centrist bloc, has eroded amid violent unrest, The New York Times reported. Rivals on the far right and the far left have benefited as his numbers slipped. Philippe is an ally of Emmanuel Macron, the outgoing president whose camp he belongs to.

Polling has tracked the change. A survey by Cluster 17 conducted between October 19 and 22 gave Philippe 16% support and far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon 18.5%, placing Mélenchon ahead, according to Politico. The Telegraph reported that polling conducted after the October 17 protests had already shown Mélenchon pulling ahead of Philippe.

The unrest grew out of a student protest movement. Seine-Saint-Denis became its centre, and thousands of students blockaded sites as part of protests that spread across France, according to The New York Times. Reuters reported that the mass protests in October spiralled into the worst riots in years.

The government responded with a larger security effort. France planned to deploy troops and boost police numbers for upcoming protests, and it imposed targeted curfews. The prime minister said the curfews helped keep the peace overnight. Officials also admitted security failures after a weekend of unrest, Reuters reported.

Violence later flared in Paris after largely peaceful protests across France. Authorities mounted a large security operation as demonstrators prepared to march, Reuters reported.

Political accusations have followed. French government officials have accused far-left leaders of stirring up the unrest for political gain, according to The New York Times, which reported that far-left leaders had cheered on the student protesters. Mélenchon, for his part, accused the government of "blind violence" in its handling of the October protests, the Times reported.