French Election to Feature 2017 Rematch as Polls Tighten

French President and incumbent Emmanuel Macron vs. challenger Marine Le Pen

PARIS (AP) – Incumbent French President Emmanuel Macron will face far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen in a winner-takes-all runoff for the presidency. They both advanced Sunday in the first round of voting in the country’s election. Macron finished in first with 27.6% of the vote and Le Pen was the runner up with 23.4% of the vote. That sets up another head-to-head clash of their sharply opposing visions for France.

Le Pen thanked voters for sending her into the runoff. Several defeated presidential candidates urged supporters not to vote for Le Pen, saying it would throw France into “chaos.” Macron, meanwhile, sought wide support from both the right and the left to defeat Le Pen in round two on April 24.

Macron won their last encounter in 2017 by a landslide of 66.1% to 33.9% to become France’s youngest-ever president, but the same outcome this time is far from guaranteed. Recent polls have suggested a tightening race.