HSBC: Le Pen May Face Defeat In France, But Election Path Far From Certain

With the recent victory of Former Prime Minister François Fillon on the right-wing of the French political spectrum, an HSBC report speculates that France might just buck the global populist trend and reject Marine Le Pen, but importantly notes that “of course, polls have been unreliable.” Fillon in surprise win After besting both Alain Marie Juppé and former President Nicolas Sarkozy, somewhat of a surprise, Fillon now waits to see if former President François Hollande of the socialist party or centre-party candidate François Bayrou enters the race. Polls had not indicated Fillon would win the November 20 first round of…