New poll puts Zemmour in round two of French vote, behind President Macron

FILE PHOTO: French far-right commentator Eric Zemmour attends a meeting for the promotion of his new book "La France n'a pas dit son dernier mot" (France has not yet said its last word) in Beziers, France, October 16, 2021. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

The hard-right political talk-show star Eric Zemmour was forecast to reach the second round of the French presidential election in a new poll published on Friday, although President Emmanuel Macron was still forecast to win the first round.

A poll published on Friday for Le Monde newspaper by Ipsos Sopra Steria gave Zemmour between 16-16.5% of votes in the first round of next year's election - enough to put him in the final, second-round run-off vote.

Macron was seen with 24 percent of votes in the first round, on the assumption that Xavier Bertrand stood for the right-wing Les Republicains party, and with 28 percent if Michel Barnier stood for Les Republicains.

FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron reacts as he poses with members of the European Council for a family photo during a face-to-face EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, October 21, 2021. REUTERS/Johanna Geron

The poll for Le Monde marks the second survey which has put Zemmour - whose candidacy remains unconfirmed - in the final, run-off vote of the election, following a similar forecast in a Harris Interactive poll earlier this month.

Surveys still forecast Macron as the likely, eventual winner.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, edited by Benoit Van Overstraeten)