Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen finished top in the first round of the French presidential election and now face each other in a run-off on 24 April that will determine who occupies the Élysée Palace for the next five years.
The outgoing president won 27.8% of the first-round vote, while the leader of the far-right nationalist Rassemblement National (National Rally) managed 23.1%. Of the 10 other candidates in the field, only far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon exceeded 10%, scoring 22%.
The second round run-off is a repeat of the 2017 election, when Macron defeated Le Pen with 66.1% of the vote against her 33.9%, but looks set to be a great deal closer. Le Pen, who has focused her campaign on the cost of living crisis, will gain the backing of many voters who supported the far-right TV pundit Éric Zemmour.
