French presidential election Le Pen

Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen appear to be the leading candidates in the first round of the French presidential elections, an analysis of early results ...

Surveys ahead of the race showed that a second round of Macron vs. While his ambitious plan to bolster the European Union's autonomy and geopolitical heft won him respect abroad and at home, he remains a divisive figure when it comes to domestic policies. Far-right political commentator turned presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, who enjoyed a seat among the top three candidates until March according to IFOP polling, came in at 7%. While Macron appears on track to win the first round, he is a polarizing figure whose approval rating has lagged during his first term. Macron is seeking to become the first French president to win reelection since Jacques Chirac in 2002. Twelve candidates were running for the top job.

A flurry of early projections and exit polls showed incumbent Macron came first with 28.1-29.5% of the vote, followed by Le Pen on 23.3-24.4%. The surging cost ...

Le Pen, seen as economically left-wing despite being very much affiliated with the far fight in France, has been highly focused on the cost of living. Support for Macron had jumped following Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and his mediation efforts earlier this year. Most of the mainstream candidates that failed to make the runoff immediately backed Macron after the exit polls came in, with Mélenchon telling his supporters there "must not be one single vote for Le Pen in the second round." But it's an issue that his opponent Le Pen, who heads up the anti-immigration National Rally party — leveraged significantly in her campaign. A flurry of early projections and exit polls showed incumbent Macron came first with 28.1-29.5% of the vote, followed by Le Pen on 23.3-24.4%. The different projections showed different tallies but all pointed toward a runoff between Macron and Le Pen in two weeks' time, with the gap between the two not as tight as some political analysts had been predicting. French leader Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival Marine Le Pen topped the first round of presidential elections on Sunday, according to exit polls, and are set to face off in the final vote on April 24.

French polling agencies suggest President Emmanuel Macron and challenger Marine Le Pen have qualified for a presidential election run-off on April 24, ...

In 2017, Macron trounced Le Pen by a landslide to become France's youngest modern president. In the 27-member European Union, only France has a nuclear arsenal and a United Nations Security Council veto. It might also not be cheered in the Kremlin: Macron has strongly backed sanctions on Russia, while Le Pen has worried publicly about their impact on French living standards. He vowed to "implement the project of progress, of French and European openness and independence we have advocated for." Pécresse said she would vote for Macron in the run-off. Incumbent Emmanuel Macron will face far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen in a winner-take-all run-off for the French presidency.

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron took first place, ahead of far-right leader Marine Le Pen, in the first round of France's presidential election on ...

His voters are expected to play a key role in the second round. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who came a strong, very close third in the election with more than 22 percent of the vote, managed to sweep up most of the country’s left-leaning votes. But the far right bloc — Marine Le Pen, Eric Zemmour and nationalist Nicolas Dupont-Aignan combined — garnered than 30 percent of the total vote. Both candidates scored higher than five years ago, leaving the traditional right and left in an even more shambolic state than before. Meanwhile, leftist firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon fared better than expected and brings a heavy dose of uncertainty to the mix as his voters are a diverse bunch. Many are likely to abstain in the second round, while others will divide up between the French president and Le Pen.

Emmanuel Macron wins the first round, but the run-off against his far-right rival may be far closer.

She has built her campaign around the cost-of-living crunch facing much of Europe, promising to cut taxes and waive income tax for under-30s. But in the end, the spring sunshine meant turnout was not as low as feared, at almost 75%. Mr Macron's team is already planning a series of big rallies and major TV appearances. Ifop pollster François Dabi said his company's 51%-49% estimate was the closest they had ever predicted. Later in the evening, Mélenchon activists gathered outside his campaign HQ thinking he might even come second, but it was not to be. The battle for votes now starts in earnest.

President Macron and the far-right leader Le Pen ahead after first round of French presidential vote, projections show.

Who next holds the Elysee Palace will depend on how those who backed Macron and Le Pen’s rivals cast their ballots. He acknowledged disagreements with Le Pen, but said Macron was a worse choice. Huski believes the gap between the estimated votes of Le Pen and Macron makes the former a weaker challenger than she imagined for the second round. “I intend without waiting to sew back up the tears that a torn-apart France suffers,” she told supporters, who chanted: “We will win!” The runoff “will be a choice of civilisation,” Le Pen added on stage in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen have come out on top of France’s first-round presidential election, qualifying for the April 24 runoff, according to initial projections. President Emmanuel Macron and the far-right leader Marine Le Pen progress to second round of French presidential election, projections show.

French President Emmanuel Macron will face the far right's Marine Le Pen in a presidential run-off on April 24 after leading the first round on Sunday with ...

The two finalists will vie for France's top job in two weeks' time, on April 24. - Twelve candidates, from the far left to the far right, were on the ballot for the first round. - Some 48.7 million voters were called to the polls forSunday’s first round.

Critics warn she's changed her style but not her far-right values. This time though, Le Pen appears much more palatable to many voters.

But I've met Melenchon supporters who've already told me they would vote for Le Pen in a run-off. By making the cost of living her central theme, she appealed to a broader church of voters. It's now or never for her - and many in her party feel this is their moment.

French president emerges in lead but tranche of far-right voters likely to transfer support to Le Pen.

Here, the far-right candidate appeared to be preaching to the converted, as just under 38% of the 871 people who voted locally chose her, and just under 22% Macron. Mélenchon has emerged as a potential kingmaker in third place after he rose to within a few points of Le Pen at just under 22% in a surprising 11th-hour surge. He also said he would “develop” his programme after listening to the “anger and despair” of those who had not voted for him, and particularly young people’s concerns over the environment. Others in the crowd that mobbed him as he walked around wanted to talk about the rising cost of living and concerns about jobs and health. We will be discussing how to revitalise our democracy and explain my manner of governing. “I want to convince our compatriots who voted for [Le Pen’s] the National Rally or who abstained to join us. Le Pen’s greatest support came from 50 to 59-year-old voters. More than 3.2 million voters who chose other far-right candidates including Éric Zemmour are likely to transfer their support to Le Pen. It was announced on Monday that Macron and Le Pen will go head-to-head in a televised debate four days before the vote, during which they will be questioned about their programmes. “We will be speaking about agriculture and being self-sufficient in production and inflation. But more than anger I am hearing worry.” “I see the divisions and anger in the country and I hear the voices of those who have voted for the extremes, even those who voted for Madame Le Pen,” he said.