France election: Macron, Le Pen head for presidential runoff

France’s President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen are heading for an April 24 presidential election runoff, projections showed after first round voting on Sunday.

Macron garnered 28.1-29.5% of votes in the first round while Le Pen won 23.3-24.4%, according to separate estimates by pollsters Ifop, OpinionWay, Elabe and Ipsos.

That would set up a duel between an economic liberal with a globalist outlook in Macron and a deeply Eurosceptic economic nationalist who, until the Ukraine war, was an open admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Socialist candidate Anne Hidalgo, who polled ninth with just under 2% of votes, backed Macron.

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“So that France does not fall into hatred of all against all, I solemnly call on you to vote on April 24 against the far-right of Marine Le Pen,” she said.

Conservative candidate Valerie Pecresse also said she would vote for Macron, warning of “disastrous consequences” if he did not win the runoff.

But rival far-right candidate Eric Zemmour will call on his supporters to back Le Pen, Marion Marechal – who is an ally of Zemmour and Le Pen’s niece – told BFM TV.

Not for two decades has a French president won a second term.

Barely a month ago, Macron appeared near certain to reverse that, riding high in polls thanks to strong economic growth, a fragmented opposition and his statesman role in trying to avert war on Europe’s eastern flank.

But he paid a price for late entry into the campaign during which he eschewed market walkabouts in provincial France in favour of a single big rally outside Paris. A plan to make people work longer also proved unpopular.

By contrast, Le Pen for months toured towns and villages across France, focusing on cost-of-living issues that trouble millions and tapping into anger towards the political elite.