LONDON, 04 February 2022, (TON): French President Emmanuel Macron has promised a clampdown on immigration in an attempt to lure France’s working-class voters ahead of this year’s presidential election.

Macron is facing challenges from two far-right figures, Marine le Pen and Eric Zemmour, both of whom have expressed anti-migrant and at times anti-Muslim sentiments.

On a visit to the northern French rustbelt, where National Rally’s Le Pen enjoys significant support, Macron outlined EU-level plans for the bloc to reinforce its external borders that would curb the number of migrants reaching France.

He also promised additional funding for home and infrastructure renovations to prop-up disaffected and run-down mining communities.

Macron, despite not having officially announced he is running for a second term as president, is the current favorite to win the first round of France’s multi-stage election.

He is followed by Le Pen, center-right candidate Valerie Pecresse, and TV pundit Zemmour. Le Pen and Zemmour argue that French identity risks being lost amid a flow of mainly Muslim migrants from the country’s former colonies.

The president’s Wednesday visit to Le Pen’s stronghold region indicates an effort to rebrand his image among working-class voters after long being seen as a wealthy Parisian uninterested in the concerns of ordinary people.