In France, the first round of the presidential election has been held with incumbent Emmanuel Macron coming first and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen reaching second place, British news portal The Guardian reports.
In the election on Sunday, April 10, Macron won it with 27.6% of the vote, ahead of Le Pen’s 23.4%, according to initial projected results by Ipsos for France Télévisions.
The liberal incumbent president of France scored higher than his result in the first round five years ago, and clearly gained support in the final hours of the campaign after his harsh warnings to voters to hold back the far right and protect France’s place on the international diplomatic stage amid the war in Ukraine.
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The score of Le Pen from the National Rally party was also higher than five years ago. She had steadily gained support after campaigning hard on the cost-of-living crisis and inflation, which had become voters’ biggest concern.
Other major candidates, who will not compete in the run-off stage except for the far-right TV pundit Éric Zemmour, immediately called for French people to vote tactically to keep out Le Pen in the second round, The Guardian reports.
French presidential run-off to take place between Le Pen and Macron
