French election: Emmanuel Macron in pole position to become president
Outsider tipped to beat Marine Le Pen in battle for France's political soul

Emmanuel Macron will face the Front National's Marine Le Pen for the French presidency after topping the country's first round of voting
Macron, a fresh-faced 39-year-old who began the race as a rank outsider, secured 24 per cent of the vote to become the moderates' hope to keep Le Pen out of the Elysees Palace in the second and final round of voting on 7 May.
A banker who served as a financial adviser in President Francois Hollande's administration in 2012, until Sunday Macron had never run for elected office.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It has also been a remarkable race for Le Pen, whose efforts to detoxify the party she inherited from her father have paid off in spectacular fashion, winning the Front National 21.9 per cent of the first round vote, which was its best performance ever.
The surge in support for a nationalist, xenophobic party "incompatible with our values" is a "warning for the state of our democracy", says French daily Le Monde, and "must trigger… a stern rebuttal" from French voters next month.
Macron and Le Pen are the embodiment of the current state of France, politically polarised by gaping economic inequality, says Le Figaro's Mathieu Slama.
Macron's electorate is the France which is doing well, making money, hopeful for the future, he writes, meanwhile "Le Pen's France is the France that suffers, that worries about making ends meet at the end of the month."
But irrespective of whether it is Macron or Le Pen who ultimately triumphs, with the two major political parties shut out of the race for the first time in modern French history, "France is set upon a new political course", says The Guardian.
But it does leave French voters with a clear choice between hope and hate, says the paper: "France must stand up again in two weeks’ time and complete the job by electing Mr Macron."
But, although early polls are predicting a landslide victory over Le Pen next month, nothing is guaranteed, says Le Parisien.
In the final days of the campaign, Macron's lead over fellow candidates Francois Fillon and Jean-Luc Melenchon shrank dramatically as Macron-mania gave way to anxieties about his meteoric rise and glibly centrist platform.
With those questions still unanswered, "Macron knows he can't afford to put a foot wrong", says the paper.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Tivoli Kopke Porto Gaia Hotel: a foodie haven in Portugal's Douro Valley
The Week Recommends Luxury city hotel with food from a Michelin-starred chef – and plenty of port
-
A zombie volcano is coming back to life, but there is no need to worry just yet
Under the radar Uturuncu's seismic activity is the result of a hydrothermal system
-
Codeword: May 12, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
What does the Le Pen verdict mean for the future of French politics?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Convicted of embezzlement and slapped with a five year ban on running for public office, where does arch-conservative Marine Le Pen go from here — and will the movement she leads follow?
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos