PARIS (AP) – French polling agencies projected Sunday that incumbent Emmanuel Macron and far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen are heading for another winner-takes-all runoff in the French presidential election, with their fierce political rivalry and sharply opposing visions pulling clear of a crowded field of 12 candidates in the first round of voting.
If confirmed by official vote counts expected later Sunday night, the pollsters’ initial projections mean France is teeing up for a repeat of the 2017 head-to-head contest that put Macron into power – but there is no guarantee that this time the outcome will be the same.
The election’s result will will have wide international influence as Europe tries to contain the havoc wreaked by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Macron has strongly backed European Union sanctions on Russia while Le Pen has worried publicly about their impact on French living standards. Macron also is a firm supporter of NATO.
Macron, a 44-year-old political centrist, won by a landslide five years ago to become France’s youngest president. But he is bracing for a far tougher runoff battle this time on April 24 against his 53-year-old political nemesis. Le Pen is promising seismic shifts for France – both domestically and internationally – if elected as the country’s first woman president, and appears closer than ever to have a chance of reaching the presidential Elysee Palace.
The projections showed both Macron and Le Pen on course to improve on their 2017 first-round showings, highlighting how French politics have increasingly become polarized. The projections showed Macron with a comfortable first-round lead of between 27%-to-29% support, ahead of Le Pen, who is expected to capture 23%-to-24% of the vote.