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| France elections: Macron and Le Pen 'through to run-off' | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The centrist Emmanuel Macron will face far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a run-off for the French presidency on 7 May, multiple projections indicate. | |
| Mr Macron leads with 23.7% in first round voting while Ms Le Pen won 21.7%, an Ipsos/Sopra Steria poll suggests. | |
| Opinion polls in the run-up to the ballot consistently saw Mr Macron defeating his rival in the final round. | |
| The two saw off a strong challenge from centre-right François Fillon and hard-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon. | |
| Another projection, from TF1/RTL, put Mr Macron and Ms Le Pen neck and neck in the first round. Final results are expected in the coming hours. | |
| The French interior ministry said that with 20 million votes counted, Ms Le Pen led on about 24% of the vote. This would represent about half the vote, but does not include major cities. | |
| Whoever wins the next round, the voting marks a shift away from the leftist and centre-right parties that have long dominated French politics. | Whoever wins the next round, the voting marks a shift away from the leftist and centre-right parties that have long dominated French politics. |
| Ms Le Pen leads the eurosceptic, anti-immigrant National Front party. She has attempted to soften the party's tone and brought big gains in the 2015 regional elections. | Ms Le Pen leads the eurosceptic, anti-immigrant National Front party. She has attempted to soften the party's tone and brought big gains in the 2015 regional elections. |
| She has urged a shake-up of France's relations with the EU, calling for negotiations followed by a referendum. | She has urged a shake-up of France's relations with the EU, calling for negotiations followed by a referendum. |
| After reaching the run-off, she hailed the result as "historic", vowing to defend the French nation and its "independence". | |
| Mr Macron served as economy minister under current President Francois Hollande. Despite his relative inexperience - he has never served as an MP - polls see him defeating Ms Le Pen in the second round. | Mr Macron served as economy minister under current President Francois Hollande. Despite his relative inexperience - he has never served as an MP - polls see him defeating Ms Le Pen in the second round. |
| He told the AFP news agency a "new page in French politics" was being turned as the results emerged. | |
| Mr Macron is also likely to attract support from the political establishment. | Mr Macron is also likely to attract support from the political establishment. |
| Defeated rival François Fillon has already endorsed him. | Defeated rival François Fillon has already endorsed him. |
| With Ms Le Pen long predicted to qualify for the second round, the BBC's Hugh Schofield says Mr Macron's likely victory is the story of the evening. | |
| In other projections: | In other projections: |
| President Hollande himself decided against running amid poor ratings. | |
| Turnout nationally appears to be similar to the last election in 2012, at about 80%. | |
| Nearly 60,000 police and soldiers were deployed across the country to secure polling, with France still reeling from the shooting of a policeman on the Champs Elysees. | Nearly 60,000 police and soldiers were deployed across the country to secure polling, with France still reeling from the shooting of a policeman on the Champs Elysees. |