French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron received a big boost on Saturday when 9 center-right senators allied with his conservative rival, Francois Fillon, penned an op ed coming out in support of Macron. Fillon, under investigation for corruption, was the front runner for president in the early stages of the campaign but has since been overtaken by National Front leader Marine Le Pen. The defection of the 9 senators from the UDI-UC party is an indication that the French establishment is coming together in order to defeat Le Pen in the second round of balloting. The first round will take place in April where no candidate is expected to receive 50% of the vote. The second round will be held in May and Macron is well positioned to win his head to head match up with Le Pen. Reuters: The nine senators from the UDI-UC party wrote a joint op-ed in the Journal du Dimanche weekly to say they would support Macron, a former minister in Socialist President Francois...(Read Full Post)