Centrist Emmanuel Macron will face far-right Marine Le Pen in the last round of France’s presidential election after leading the first round on Sunday by 28% to 23%, according to initial results.
France now faces a brutal two-week battle for the country’s future as Macron again defines himself as pro-European “progressive”, trying to confront what he calls a “racist”, anti-Muslim, nationalist Le Pen program and its ” complacency “with Russian leader Vladimir Putin amid the war in Ukraine.
Macron scored better in the first round five years ago and apparently received support in the last hours of the campaign after his warnings to voters to keep the far right and defend France’s place on the international diplomatic stage while fighting continues in Ukraine.
But Le Pen’s score was also higher than five years ago. She was constantly gaining support after campaigning hard for the cost of living crisis and inflation, which hit households and became the biggest concern of voters.
The far-left Jean-Luc Melenchon came in third with a higher-than-expected 20% of the vote, consolidating his lead on the left after a campaign for the cost of living and transforming the presidential system.
Far-right television expert Eric Zemor, who has been convicted of inciting racial hatred and running as an outsider on an anti-immigration platform, was fourth with 7% of the vote – less than he had hoped.
But the biggest shock of the evening was the very low rating of Valerie Pecres, the candidate for the traditional right Les Républicains of Nicolas Sarkozy. She received only 5% of the vote – poor performance, which is likely to lead to the collapse of her party in favor of its hardliners. This could leave France in a unique position in Europe without a traditional fundamental right.
The decline of traditional ruling parties was confirmed by the Socialist Party’s candidate and mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, at just 2%. Yannick Jado of the Greens scored 4.4%, although the environment is among the main problems of French voters.
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