The president overcame the vote in this first round with a comfortable lead of between 27 and 29 percent in support, ahead of Marin Lepen, who is projected to garner 23 to 24 percent of the vote. Such a result would send the two into a head-to-head fight in two weeks that would determine who the French president would be for the next five years. Polls suggest only a few percentage points could separate center-left Macron and far-right Mr Le Pen in the next vote. An Ifop poll by French television station TF1 predicted that the current president would be re-elected by a narrow margin of 51 percent in the second round. Macron had previously predicted a comfortable victory in his re-election candidacy. But Ms. Lepen, who has downplayed her image despite continuing to pursue policies targeting Muslims and foreigners, has narrowed her lead in recent weeks. Emanuel Macron kisses a small child on the head as he speaks to attendees after voting at Le Touquet (AFP) The second round on April 24 looks set to be a choice between pro-business and the current incumbent president or blowing up the decades-long consensus in favor of Ms Lepen. Speaking on Sunday night, Mr Macron said: “You can all count on me to launch this project of progress, transparency, French and European independence that we have defended throughout this campaign.” The president said he also wanted to persuade anyone who abstained or voted in favor of extreme political stances in the first round. “When the far right in all its forms represents such a large part of our country, we can not feel that things are going well,” he said. Speaking of Ms. Le Pen’s vote, Mr Macron said: “I want to convince them in the coming days that our plan responds firmly to the fears and challenges of our time.” Ms Le Pen, meanwhile, said she would heal France’s divisions if elected president in the second round after Sunday’s predictions. Marin Le Pen addresses party supporters after first round of first-round presidential election in Paris (AFP via Getty Images) “I intend to wait without waiting to sew back the tears that a divided France is suffering from which the government has now been able to do so far,” she told her supporters. Its policies include banning the Muslim headscarf in public places and deporting foreigners who have been out of work for more than a year. He also tried to capitalize on the daily complaints of the average voter, who was facing rising fuel, food and energy prices. All but one of the presidential candidates threw their support for Mr Macron after the first predictions surfaced, as they tried to warn their supporters not to side with the far-right candidate. Far-left leader Jean-Luc Melanson – who is expected to finish third with about 20 percent of the vote in the first round – told his fans on Sunday afternoon: “There should not be a single vote in favor of Le Pen in the second round. ». Ann Indalgo, the mayor of Paris, who is expected to receive about 2 percent of the vote, urged voters to support Mr Macron in the second round to prevent France from falling into “hatred of all against all”. Yannick Jadot, who was a candidate for the Greens, called on his supporters to “block the far right by voting for Emmanuel Macron” in the second round. Nicolas Sarkozy’s candidate for the traditional Conservative party, Valérie Pécresse, was projected to garner less than 5 percent of the vote in the biggest shock of the night. He said he would vote for Mr Macron “to stop Marin Le Pen”, adding:[Le Pen’s] “The historical proximity to Vladimir Putin discredits her from defending the interests of our country in these tragic times.” Far-right expert Eric Zemmour, who has faced fines for inciting both racial and religious hatred, was the only candidate to support Ms. Le Pen in the next round of elections, as she was predicted to be 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 challenger. Macron’s victory will be seen as a defeat for European populists. However, he is unlikely to be applauded in the Kremlin: Mr Macron has been a strong supporter of sanctions on Russia, while Ms Le Pen has been publicly concerned about their impact on French living standards. Macron is the only presidential candidate who fully supports NATO’s military alliance. Voting in a northern French city on Sunday, Le Pen said the election result could shape France not only for the next five-year term but also “probably for the next 50 years”. Mr Macron voted in the seaside town of Le Touquet. He was seen talking to members of the public after he left the polling station, even kissing some of them on the head. Following the vote on Sunday afternoon, Mr Macron said more than 36 million people had exercised their right to vote. Mr Macron’s first-round result was higher than it was five years ago, but Ms Lepen’s score was also higher. Macron told supporters that the next two weeks “will be crucial for our country and for Europe.” “Make no mistake,” he said, “nothing has been decided.”
