Le Pen Urges Voters to Unite Ahead of France's Runoff

“All those whom today did not vote for Emmanuel Macron are of course called upon to join this rally,” far-right candidate Marine Le Pen said after reaching the second round of the French presidential elections on Sunday with a projected 24% of the votes.

President Emmanuel Macron is set to face his nationalist rival Marine Le Pen in the final round of the French election in a re-run of their 2017 contest.

Macron got around 28% of the vote compared with about 24% for Le Pen, according to pollsters’ projections based on partial results from Sunday’s initial ballot. Far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon was third with around 20%. The top two candidates will go forward to a runoff on April 24 to decide who will lead Europe’s second-biggest economy.

“The game isn’t over yet,” the 44-year-old president told supporters at a rally in the French capital. One snap poll of 1,700 voters taken by OpinionWay after voting closed in Sunday showed Macron leading Le Pen by 54% to 46%. Another survey of almost 1,000 people by Ifop had him ahead by 51% to 49%, less than the margin of error.

A late surge in support for Le Pen has focused attention on French political risk and investors will be watching closely over the next two weeks for signs that Macron can consolidate his advantage. The yield on France’s 10-year bonds rose to a seven-year high last week on concerns at the prospect of a nationalist with longstanding sympathies for Russia taking power in the middle of the Ukraine war.

“The numbers are quite encouraging,” said Andrea Cicione, head of research at TS Lombard. “There’s a significant gap between Macron and Le Pen. So if that gets carried over to the second round, that looks like quite a good development for markets, especially bond markets.”

For Le Pen, 53, the projections suggest a record result that would cement her position as leader of the far-right in France and continue the movement’s advance that began under her father 20 years ago. They also show the deep divisions that surfaced when they last faced off five years ago have only gotten worse.

Speaking to her boisterous supporters in Paris after polls closed, Le Pen appealed to voters to unite behind her to oust Macron.

“All of those who didn’t vote for Emmanuel Macron today, of course, should join this movement,” she said. “I call on the French people from the left or the right, of whatever origin, to join this great national and popular movement.”

“The stars are aligned,” said Gilles Pennelle, a Le Pen supporter, as the crowd sang the French national anthem and got stuck into a spread that included champagne bottles with labels reading “Marine Presidente” as well as cheese, cold cuts and bagels.

The atmosphere at Macron’s event was muted in comparison. Even if the president is re-elected, he will face clear challenges in pushing through his economic and social reforms and may struggle to defend his majority in the legislative elections scheduled for June.

Macron only started campaigning about a week ago. After Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, he shifted his focus away from domestic politics to international affairs, casting himself as a statesmanlike figure in turbulent times. But as voter concern that the war would engulf the entire region began to fade, so did the ground swell of support that had pushed Macron’s popularity to 51%.

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