Emmanuel Macron will face Marin Le Pen in the second round of the French election, according to forecasts released after the vote.
The president led the vote in this first round with a convenient lead of between 27 and 29 percent, ahead of Marin Le Pen, who is expected to take 23 to 24 percent of the vote.
A similar result will send the two into a direct struggle in two weeks, which will determine who will be the French president for the next five years.
Sociological experts suggest that only a few percentage points could separate the centrist Macron and the far-right Mrs Le Pen in the next vote.
An Ifop poll for French television station TF1 predicts that the current president will be re-elected with a small margin of 51 percent of the vote in the second round.
Earlier, Macron was predicted to win a comfortable victory in his re-election. But Ms Le Pen, who has softened her image despite continuing to pursue policies targeting Muslims and foreigners, has narrowed that lead in recent weeks.
Emmanuel Macron kisses a small child on the head while talking to onlookers after voting in Le Touquet
(AFP)
The second round on April 24 seems to be a choice between pro-business and centrist current president or blowing up decades of mass consensus in favor of Ms. Le Pen.
Speaking on Sunday evening, Mr Macron said: “You can all count on me to launch this project for progress, openness, French and European independence, which we have been defending throughout this campaign.
The president also said he wanted to persuade all those who abstained or voted for extreme political positions in the first round.
“When the far right in all its forms represents such a large part of our country, we cannot feel that things are going well,” he said.
Speaking about the votes for Ms Le Pen, Mr Macron said: “I want to convince them over the next few days that our project is a solid response to their fears and challenges of our time.
Ms Le Pen, meanwhile, said she would heal France’s divisions if she was elected president in a run-off after Sunday’s forecast.
Marin Le Pen addresses party supporters after first results of first round of presidential elections in Paris
(AFP via Getty Images)
“I intend, without waiting, to sew up the tears of a torn France that the government has been able to do so far,” she told her supporters.
Its policies include banning Muslim headscarves in public places and deporting foreigners who have been unemployed for more than a year. It is also trying to address the daily complaints of ordinary voters facing rising fuel, food and energy prices.
All but one of the other presidential candidates have backed Macron after the first predictions came out as they tried to warn their supporters not to side with the far-right candidate.
Left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melanchon, who is expected to finish third with about 20 percent of the vote in the first round, told his followers on Sunday night: “There should be no vote for Le Pen in the second round.
Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, who predicts about 2% of the vote, called on voters to support Macron in the runoff to prevent France from falling into “everyone’s hatred against everyone”.
Yannick Jado, who is running for the Greens, called on his supporters to “block the far right by giving their vote to Emmanuel Macron” in the second round.
Valerie Pecres, Nicolas Sarkozy’s candidate for the traditional Conservative Party, was expected to receive less than 5 per cent of the vote in the biggest shock of the evening.
She said she would vote for Mr Macron, “to stop Marin Le Pen”, adding: “[Le Pen’s] Her historical closeness to Vladimir Putin discredits her from defending the interests of our country in these tragic times.
Far-right expert Eric Zemour, facing fines for inciting both racial and religious hatred, was the only candidate to support Ms Le Pen for the next round of elections, as she was expected to drop out of the race.
He said Macron “did not say a word about identity, security, immigration during his campaign” and called on voters to support the far-right candidate instead.
Macron’s victory will be seen as a defeat for European populists.
But this is unlikely to be welcomed in the Kremlin: Mr Macron has strongly supported sanctions against Russia, while Ms Le Pen is publicly concerned about their impact on French living standards.
Mr Macron is the only leading presidential candidate who fully supports NATO’s military alliance.
Voting Sunday in a northern French city, Ms Le Pen said the election result could shape France not only for the next president’s five-year term, but also “probably for the next 50 years”.
Mr Macron voted in the seaside town of Le Touquet. He was seen speaking to the public after leaving the polls, even kissing some of them on the head.
After the vote ended Sunday night, Macron said a total of more than 36 million people had exercised their right to vote.
Macron’s expected result in the first round was higher than five years ago, but Ms. Le Pen’s result was also higher.
Mr Macron told his supporters that the next two weeks “will be crucial for our country and for Europe”.
“Make no mistake,” he said, “nothing has been decided.”
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