Mr. Macron and Mrs. Le Pen lead the first round of the French presidential election

People view early election results at a bar in Montlucon, France, on April 10 – Photo: REUTERS

At the first round of the French presidential election held on April 10, Mr Macron led his main rival, Ms. Le Pen, by a larger margin than expected.

It is expected that the final results of round 1 will be available on 11-4. Polls on the evening of April 10 showed Macron and Le Pen closely chasing each other.

Ifop-Fiducial polls show Mr Macron having a low win rate, just 51% compared to Le Pen’s 49%.

Although he was late to the campaign and organized only one campaign, Mr Macron has achieved a slightly better result than expected and won the support of most of his opponents. .

Speaking on April 10, French President Emmanuel Macron said “nothing has been decided” after the results of the first round and the next round will be “decisive for France and Europe”.

This is the second time Ms. Le Pen has run for the presidency and her first round results are better than the first one in 2017. She vowed to heal France’s divisions if elected president.

The 53-year-old far-right candidate said people would make a choice “between two visions”. In it Mr. Macron represents “division, injustice and disorder… for the benefit of the few”, while she represents “social justice”.

The two candidates Macron and Le Pen will have a debate broadcast live on television on April 20. Traditionally, the debate would attract millions of followers and have an important impact on the final outcome.

In 2017, Mr. Macron was said to have performed better than Ms. Le Pen and won in the end.

In this year’s campaign, Ms. Le Pen presented a more dovish image and focused on voters’ basic worries like inflation. However, opponents accuse her of being divisive and racist, and Macron is expected to take aim at her close past with Russian President Putin.

The far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon is predicted to come in third with 19.8-20.8%, far ahead of the remaining opponents including far-right candidate Eric Zemmour (6.8-7%). , candidate Valerie Pecresse from the right-wing Republican Party (4.3-5%) and Socialist candidate Anne Hidalgo (1.8-2.0%).

The election campaign has been overshadowed by the war in Ukraine, while soaring daily prices have made the cost of living a top priority for voters.

The second round of voting will take place on April 24.