Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen through to French presidential runoff
The centrist is expected to comfortably win the second round
Early reports on the first round of the French presidential election suggest that the far-right Marine Le Pen and the pro-European centrist Emmanuel Macron have qualified for the second round run-off.
Vote estimates put Macron on about 23.7 per cent and Le Pen on 22 per cent. Those figures are subject to change as more results are tallied. The one-time frontrunner François Fillon is believed to have garnered just under 20 per cent, as has the hard left Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
The Socialist Party of current president François Hollande seem to have suffered a disaster, as early estimates put their candidate Benoît Hamon on 6.5 per cent.
Progressives will breathe a sigh of relief based on today’s turnout, since it’s now extremely difficult to see a route to victory for Le Pen. Hypothetical polls based on this scenario have predicted a comfortable Macron victory.
Already, the Hamon has publicly endorsed Macron, highlighting the need to defeat the far right.
J’appelle à battre le plus fortement possible le Front national en votant pour Emmanuel Macron, même s’il n’appartient pas à la gauche.
— Benoît Hamon (@benoithamon) April 23, 2017
See: What would a French President Macron mean for Brexit?
Left Foot Forward doesn't have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
Donate today
