Iran Press/ Europe: With projections putting Macron in first place ahead of Le Pen after Sunday's first-round voting, other major candidates admitted defeat.
Mr. Macron garnered 28.1-29.5 per cent of votes in the first round while Le Pen won 23.3-24.4 per cent, according to estimates by pollsters Ifop, OpinionWay, Elabe and Ipsos, France 24 reported.
Ifop pollsters predicted a tight runoff, with 51 per cent for Mr. Macron and 49 per cent for Mrs. Le Pen. The gap is so tight that victory either way is within the margin of error.
In 2017, Macron won with 66.1 per cent of the votes. Le Pen, who had eaten into the president's once-commanding 10-point poll lead in recent weeks thanks to a campaign focused on cost-of-living issues said she was the one to protect the weak and unite a nation tired of its elite.
Some 48.7 million voters were eligible to vote in the election after an unusual campaign overshadowed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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