In France, It's Macron vs. Le Pen, again, for Presidency

A screen shows French President Emmanuel Macron and centrist candidate for reelection and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen at her election day headquarters, in Paris, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Incumbent Emmanuel Macron will face far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen in a winner-takes-all runoff for the French presidency, after they both advanced Sunday in the first round of voting in the country’s election to set up another head-to-head clash of their sharply opposing visions for France.

But while Macron won their last contest in 2017 by a landslide to become France's youngest-ever president, the same outcome this time is far from guaranteed. Macron, now 44, emerged ahead from Sunday's first round, but the runoff is essentially a new election and the next two weeks of campaigning to the April 24 second-round vote promise to be bruising and confrontational against his 53-year-old political nemesis, The Associated Press said.