Macron and Le Pen face French runoff with Europe-wide impact

It is not just France but Europe that’s closely observing a critical runoff for the presidency, writes Ania Nussbaum.

A man walks past presidential campaign posters of Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen in Anglet, southwestern France, on Wednesday, April 8, 2022. Picture: Bob Edme/AP.

President Emmanuel Macron is set to face his nationalist rival Marine Le Pen in the final round of the French election in a rerun of their 2017 contest that will reverberate across Europe.

Macron got 27.6% of the vote compared with 23.4% for Le Pen, according to Interior Ministry figures based on 97% of registered voters counted.