Macron, Le Pen in French runoff as establishment crashes out

PARIS (April 24): Centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen won the first round of the French presidential election, triggering a runoff on May 7 between two radically different visions of the country’s future. 

Macron, a first-time candidate and political independent, was on course to take 23.8% in Sunday’s election, with National Front leader Le Pen on 21.7%, according to projections from the Interior Ministry based on more than 90% of votes counted. A snap poll released late Sunday suggested Macron would defeat Le Pen by more than 20 percentage points in the second round.

The result means that for the first time in modern French political history, both establishment parties were eliminated in the first round. Republican Francois Fillon conceded within less than an hour of polls closing after placing third with a projected 2%, while Socialist Benoit Hamon trailed in fifth place with just 6.3%. Communist-backed Jean-Luc Melenchon was on 19.4% and refused to concede.

---

Related Stories

• Euro rises on bets Le Pen to fall short of absolute majority
• France becomes Europe’s least-preferred stock market, says BofA
• Euro weakens as jitters over France grow

---