With 97% of the votes counted, the president secured 27.6% of the votes and his opponent won 23.4%. French voters will go to the polls again on April 24 to decide whether Mr Macron will remain in the Elysium for a second five-year term. Read more: Everything you need to know about the French elections Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:02 Macron and Le Pen voted The current president, Mr Macron, called on those from the ruling left and right to vote for him in the second round to defeat Mr Lepen. “I want to reach out to anyone who wants to work for France. I am ready to come up with something new to bring together different beliefs and opinions in order to build a common action with them,” he said. He vowed to “carry out the work of progress, of the French and European openness and independence that we have advocated.” Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:04 The happy crowds applaud Macron’s lead in the exit poll Speaking to her supporters in Paris, Le Pen said she would be “president of all French citizens” and called on them to “unite with her”. The far-left candidate, Jean-Luc Melanson, came in third, according to the French Interior Ministry, winning 21.9% of the vote. He has repeatedly urged supporters in Paris not to support Le Pen, but said voters were now faced with their own conscience. “The fighting continues,” said Melanson, 70, in what he called his “political struggle.” All but one of the remaining nine candidates who were knocked out in the first round have lined up to support Mr Macron. Only far-right former journalist Eric Zemmour has backed Le Pen. Image: Marin Lepen speaks to her supporters after the exit poll results The race was tight a few days before the vote Just weeks ago, incumbent President Macron looked confident he would win a second time. But after a belated start to his campaign due to the war in Ukraine and Ms Lepen’s efforts to focus on the cost-of-living crisis at home, the gap in their ratings closed, with the National Rally candidate within margin of error succeeding. a victory for the first time. The vote on April 24 will be a repeat of the election five years ago, when the 44-year-old Macron secured 66% of the vote and Ms. Lepen just 33%. Lepen, 53, who is making her third attempt at the presidency, has benefited from a drop in the popularity of Mr Zemour, her main far-right rival. It has also tried to soften its anti-immigration policies, choosing to focus on rising inflation in an effort to appear more moderate. She banned her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, from her party in 2015 and renamed the National Front a National Rally in 2018 to further consolidate her image. He denies Mr Macron’s allegations of racism.
Analysis: Could the far right really win?
By Sally Lockwood, news correspondent in Paris The big question in French politics – Can the far right really win the French presidency? As Marine Le Pen arrived at her rally on election night, I asked her if she felt confident. A nod and an ironic smile was her response. This is Le Pen’s third and final term in office and has never been so close. It’s now or never for her – and many at her party feel that this is their time. President Macron is ahead, but the numbers are certainly in the margin of error. As the story of Brexit and Donald Trump has taught us, a far-right president is now possible in France. Many here compare these elections to those sudden results in the United Kingdom and the United States. Lepen has softened her image, played a clever campaign and seems to be working. Making the cost of living a central issue, she turned to a wider church of voters. This is an issue that most concerns the French. Moving away from her anti-immigrant anti-Islamic focus in the past, she helped detoxify her as a candidate. She tried to distance herself from Vladimir Putin, whom she had praised in the past – even during the war in Ukraine, her relations with Russia have not diminished in popularity. On the streets of Paris, people now tell me that he speaks their language. Critics warn that she has changed her style but not her far-right values. This time, however, Le Pen looks much tastier to many French voters. And these voters are much less predictable. The question now is what will the supporters of the other 10 candidates do with their votes in the second round. Normally there is an agreement between the parties to vote together in the second round against the far right. Jean-Luc Melanson, who had the third highest number of votes in this first round, told his supporters not to vote for Le Pen – but I have met supporters of Melanson who have already told me they would vote for Le Pen in an outflow. Speaking to voters, there is an impression that the French are seeking change. France feels like an uncharted constituency.
