The survey, conducted by French pollster Elabe from April 3-5, found that Le Pen would have a firm lead over Macron in the first round of voting with 31%, against the incumbent’s 23%, French broadcaster reported.
Of the 1,808 adults polled online, 18.5% said they would vote for left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, while right-wing pundit Eric Zemmour came in a distant fourth with only 7% of the vote.
The poll was conducted on the premise that the 2022 candidate pool would remain unchanged. Macron was reelected last spring after securing 58.6% of the vote over Le Pen's 41.5% in the second round of voting.
Macron’s popularity has flagged ever since he pushed a controversial pension reform through parliament without a vote to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. A new presidential vote is not due until spring 2027.