美国国家公共电台 NPR French Presidential Candidate Macron Takes Page From American Political Playbook

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

This weekend, France holds the first round of its presidential election.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The future of Europe is set to be on the line. One candidate, Marine 1 Le Pen, opposes immigration and more broadly opposes the European Union, which is already losing Britain. The other three leading candidates favor the E.U.

INSKEEP: And they include political newcomer Emmanuel Macron. His supporters are gathering 2 voters for him using a tactic 3 imported from the United States of America. That's right. France gave the U.S. the Statue of Liberty, and now, Jake Cigainero reports, the United States has given France campaign workers going door to door.

(SOUNDBITE OF KNOCKING)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Bonjour.

JAKE CIGAINERO, BYLINE 4: The French rarely knock on their neighbors' doors, so asking a stranger to talk politics during election season is something new. Twenty-five-year-old Cristelle Dernon has decided 5 to step out of her comfort zone for her presidential pick, Emmanuel Macron.

CRISTELLE DERNON: I wouldn't say that it's normal. People are quite surprised that we just knock on their doors to talk about politics. They're not used to that.

CIGAINERO: Dernon makes her way into a social housing complex in the 18th district of Paris, a working-class neighborhood. People here used to vote socialist 6. But this year, many say they are undecided, which makes them a prime target for Macron's volunteers.

DERNON: (Speaking in French).

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Speaking in French).

CIGAINERO: This woman says her husband is a taxi driver who has lost 30 percent of his business to Uber.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Speaking French) Uber (speaking French).

GREENE: Macron supports the ride-share service, but the woman is open to persuasion 7. Dernon explains the candidate's policy to create more jobs and leaves a brochure. Another call results in a heated 10-minute debate.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Speaking French).

DERNON: (Speaking French).

CIGAINERO: Dernon says it's the undecided voters that excite her the most.

DERNON: Because the guy was actually unsure about his vote. And just for having us and discussing with us, he was actually convinced in the end. And I think he will help us relay the program and everything to his friends and family.

CIGAINERO: It's a tactic borrowed from another politician who, like Macron, was an inexperienced newcomer when he first appeared on the scene. His name was Barack Obama.

LEX PAULSON: What we've seen is that, in all the political science studies, going door-to-door, having an exchange face-to-face - it raises the chance of persuading someone to vote by eight to 10 times.

CIGAINERO: Lex Paulson is an American who worked on Obama's 2008 bid. He now teaches political science in Paris and is an unpaid 8 adviser 9 to Macron. Paulson says he's hearing the same frustrations 10 from French voters that he heard when he worked for Obama.

PAULSON: It feels like the stakes are exactly the same here and maybe even more urgent now that America has gone the direction it's gone. I think that this is the most important campaign in the world right now.

CIGAINERO: If Macron does make it to the second round, he's likely to meet extreme-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the runoff. He's hoping the new tactic of talking to voters on their doorsteps will help him win enough national support to defeat Le Pen and become the next president of France. For NPR News, I'm Jake Cigainero in Paris.

(SOUNDBITE OF SLOW DANCING SOCIETY'S "I"M NOT READY YET")