Conservative Le Pen in striking distance of Macron for French presidency

Although French conservative Marine Le Pen was trailing President Macron by 10 points just last month, recent polls have suggested that a Le Pen has closed in on the incumbent president and an upset is now within the margin of error should she make it through to the 24 April run-off election.

"Nothing is impossible," Macron warned.

Macron has served as one of Europe (and NATO’s) leading voices in the push to end Russia’s bloody war in Ukraine, but the French public appears to have more pressing concerns – many of which Le Pen tapped into on the campaign trail.

While Macron remains ahead in opinion polls, growing uncertainty among the French public means that his re-election can no longer be considered a foregone conclusion. A poll on Thursday revealed that the gap between the two candidates has never been tighter, and Le Pen is seen winning 49% of votes in an ever more likely runoff against the president – a figure which puts her well within the margin of error for victory, the BBC reported.

Le Pen – widely considered a “far-right” candidate by the media – has centered her campaign around tax cuts, purchasing power and a push for further economic recovery as global markets continue to react to the growing crisis in Eastern Europe.

Analysts also believe that Le Pen’s popularity was lifted by her controversial far-right opponent, National Rally leader Eric Zemmour.

"I would say that [Zemmour's] campaign was destroyed by Ukraine," said Gilles Paris, an election specialist for French daily Le Monde.

"His pro-Russian attitude was a burden, while Marine Le Pen was smart enough to pivot to a more moderate point of view. She was ready to accept refugees [immediately], while it took two days for Zemmour to understand that these refugees were well accepted in France."

Le Pen has since picked up a majority of Eric Zemmour's votes.

Gilles Paris also believes Eric Zemmour's polarizing campaign helped boost the French conservative’s ratings.

"He was a kind of a 'useful fool' [for Marine Le Pen] because he was able to bulldoze the fence that separated the majority of the right from the far-right,” he said.

But as Macron scrambles to maintain his electoral lead, he has fallen back on identity politics to try and dampen Le Pen’s gains.

"There was a clear strategy (from Le Pen's camp) to hide what is brutal in her program," Macron told Le Parisien in an interview published on Friday.

"Her fundamentals have not changed: It's a racist program that aims to divide society and is very brutal."