Home Articles Confirmed: Macron and Le Pen to face off on April 24 to...
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With more than 90 per cent of the vote counted in the first round, projections showed Macron scoring 28-29 percent, with Le Pen on 22-24 percent. As the top two finishers, they advance to the second round on April 24.
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Despite entering the campaign late and holding just one rally before the vote, Macron performed more strongly than predicted and won immediate support on Sunday night from most of his defeated rivals ahead of the run-off.
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French President Emmanuel Macron topped the first round of presidential elections on Sunday, beating far-right rival Marine Le Pen by a larger than expected margin and setting up what is expected to be a tight run-off between the pair later this month.
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“Make no mistake: nothing is decided,” he told cheering supporters at his campaign headquarters. “The debate that we are going to have over the next fortnight will be decisive for our country and Europe.”
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But he added: “When the far-right with all its forms is so high in our country, you can’t say that things are going well.”
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Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon just missed out in third with a projected score of 20-21 percent.
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The candidates for France’s traditional parties of government — the Socialists and the Republicans — were meanwhile on course for humiliating defeats and historic low scores.
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Far-right pundit Eric Zemmour, a political newcomer running for the first time, was projected to win 6.5-7.1 percent.
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Official results are expected Monday morning, and new polls out on Sunday night suggested a tight second round.
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The Ifop-Fiducial group gave Macron a razor-thin winning margin of 51 versus 49 percent, Ipsos-Sopra Steria gave him a slightly wider margin at 54 percent versus 46 percent.
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The Elabe group suggested Macron would score 52 percent to Le Pen’s 48 percent if the election were held now.
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France voted on Sunday in the first round of a presidential election projected to produce a run-off rematch between Macron and Le Pen that will be far tighter than their duel five years ago. The final round run-off is scheduled for April 24 with the candidate with more than 50 per cent votes winning the seat.
