Monday, 23rd December 2024

Macron and Le Pen through first round of French election

Both candidates will move to the final head-to-head

Monday, 24th April 2017

French centrist Emmanuel Macron has come out on top in the first round of France's presidential election and will go head-to-head with far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

He is favourite to win the 7 May final round.

The result means that for the first time in 60 years there is no candidate from France's main left- or right-wing parties through from the first round.

Results

According to reports in France, Le Pen trailed 21.5% of the vote to Macron's 23.8%.

Francois Fillon, a centre-right politician whose campaign was dogged by scandal, and hard-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon were the nearest contenders on around 19%.

Many of the major parties are now backing Macron, who at 39 could become France's youngest president despite running as an independent.

However, without a political party behind him Macron may struggle to secure a majority in the national assembly.

This means the challenging prospect of having to negotiate his policies approved through parliament.