
France faces a repeat of the 2017 election showdown between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen with Macron still favoured but in a much tighter race, opinion polls show ahead of the first round of voting on Sunday.
Five years ago Macron beat Le Pen with an overwhelming 66.1% of the vote in the second-round runoff, with voters of all stripes rallying behind the centrist newcomer to beat the far-right candidate.