The first round of the French presidential elections, held on Sunday, pushed far-right, anti-European Union candidate Marine Le Pen of the National Front and Independent centrist Emmanuel Macron of En Marche through to the second and final round to be held on May 7, AP reported. In a first, the two major parties of the country, The Republicans and the Socialist Party, crashed out in the first round.
Estimations from partial results put Macron on top, with 24% of the votes polled, while Le Pen was a close second, with 22% of the votes, The New York Times reported. There were 11 candidates in the first round and Macron and Le Pen won most of the votes. Opinion polls have predicted that Macron will easily win Round Two next month.
“For months and again today I’ve heard the doubts, the anger and the fears of the French people. Their desire for change too,” the 39-year-old Macron, a former economy minister, told thousands of cheering supporters in Paris. Le Pen hailed a “historic vote” in front of her supporters, adding: “The first stage has been passed.”
Earlier, opinion polls had showed Le Pen and Macron leading. Conservative former Prime Minister Francois Fillion, who has been embroiled in a controversy for allegedly embezzling funds, and far-left’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon had not been far behind either. Fillion, however, conceded defeat after the first round and endorsed Macron for the May runoff.
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