The poll numbers showed a barrow lead and with one of her main rivals embroiled in an expenses scandal, far-right leader Marine Le Pen could feasibly become French president in May, senior politicians and commentators say.
At the headquarters of her National Front (FN) party in Nanterre outside Paris, officials believe the same forces that led to the Brexit vote in Britain and Donald Trump's victory in the United States could carry Le Pen to power.
Even some of her rivals concede a victory for the far-right firebrand is possible.
"I think Madame Le Pen could be elected," former conservative prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said this month.
Another former premier, the Socialist Manuel Valls, has also warned of the "danger" of assuming that Le Pen cannot win.
Polls show that support for the 48-year-old anti-immigrant and anti-EU candidate has been consistent for four years now.
Since 2013, surveys have shown she will progress through the first round to reach the runoff stage in France's two-stage presidential election.
Pollsters now note that although Le Pen is not currently forecast to win the all-important showdown on 7 May 2017, she has whittled down the projected gap between herself and her main challengers.
The legal woes of her conservative challenger Francois Fillon have especially played into Le Pen's hands.
When Fillon saw off pre-contest favourite Alain Juppe to clinch the rightwing nomination in late November, polls showed he would win 67 percent of the vote in the runoff to 33 percent for Le Pen.
Then in January allegations surfaced that Fillon had paid his wife hundreds of thousands of euros for parliamentary work she might not have done. Surveys now show Le Pen would score 44 percent to 56 percent for Fillon if the second round was held today.
The pressure on 62-year-old Fillon moved up a notch on Friday when prosecutors announced he would face a full judicial investigation into the claims.
At the headquarters of her National Front (FN) party in Nanterre outside Paris, officials believe the same forces that led to the Brexit vote in Britain and Donald Trump's victory in the United States could carry Le Pen to power.
Even some of her rivals concede a victory for the far-right firebrand is possible.
"I think Madame Le Pen could be elected," former conservative prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said this month.
Another former premier, the Socialist Manuel Valls, has also warned of the "danger" of assuming that Le Pen cannot win.
Polls show that support for the 48-year-old anti-immigrant and anti-EU candidate has been consistent for four years now.
Since 2013, surveys have shown she will progress through the first round to reach the runoff stage in France's two-stage presidential election.
Pollsters now note that although Le Pen is not currently forecast to win the all-important showdown on 7 May 2017, she has whittled down the projected gap between herself and her main challengers.
The legal woes of her conservative challenger Francois Fillon have especially played into Le Pen's hands.
When Fillon saw off pre-contest favourite Alain Juppe to clinch the rightwing nomination in late November, polls showed he would win 67 percent of the vote in the runoff to 33 percent for Le Pen.
Then in January allegations surfaced that Fillon had paid his wife hundreds of thousands of euros for parliamentary work she might not have done. Surveys now show Le Pen would score 44 percent to 56 percent for Fillon if the second round was held today.
The pressure on 62-year-old Fillon moved up a notch on Friday when prosecutors announced he would face a full judicial investigation into the claims.