Macron or Le Pen? French voters face stark choice for president

PARIS • The French voted yesterday in an election that will decide whether pro-European Union, centrist President Emmanuel Macron keeps his job, or is unseated by far-right eurosceptic Marine Le Pen in what would amount to a political earthquake.

Opinion polls in recent days gave Mr Macron a solid and slightly growing lead as analysts said Ms Le Pen - despite her efforts to soften her image and tone down some of her National Rally party's policies - remained unpalatable to many voters.

But a surprise Le Pen victory could not be ruled out. With polls showing neither candidate able to count on enough core supporters to win, much will depend on those still weighing up anxiety about the implications of a far-right presidency against anger at Mr Macron's record since his 2017 election.

A Le Pen victory would mark a political upheaval for Western democracies on a par with Brexit or the United States' election of Mr Donald Trump in 2016, ending decades of rule by mainstream French leaders and creating the latest threat to the future of the European Union.

At 5pm yesterday (11pm Singapore time), voter turnout for the presidential run-off stood at 63.2 per cent, down by more than two percentage points from the same time in the second round of the 2017 race, the Interior Ministry said.

Mr Macron, 44, who won against Ms Le Pen in the last presidential election five years ago, has warned of "civil war" if Ms Le Pen - whose policies include a ban on wearing Muslim headscarves in public - is elected and has called on democrats of all stripes to back him.

Ms Le Pen, 53, focused her campaign on the rising cost of living in the world's seventh-largest economy, which many French say has worsened with the surge in global energy prices.

She has also zeroed in on Mr Macron's abrasive leadership style which she says shows an elitist contempt for ordinary people.

Ms Le Pen, who has also been criticised by Mr Macron for her past admiration of Russian President Vladimir Putin, rejects accusations of racism. She said her plans to give priority to French citizens for social housing and jobs and scrap a number of welfare benefits for foreigners would benefit all French, independently of their religion or origins.

If Mr Macron prevails, he will face a difficult second term, with none of the grace period that he enjoyed after his first victory, and protests likely over his plan to continue pro-business reforms, including raising the retirement age from 62 to 65.

If Ms Le Pen unseats Mr Macron, she would seek to make radical changes to France's domestic and international policies, and street protests could start immediately. Shock waves would be felt across Europe and beyond.

Whoever comes out on top, a first major challenge will be to win parliamentary elections in June to secure a workable majority to implement their programmes.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE