Macron leads as France heads to the polls


Despite suffering a major data breach Friday, centrist Emmanuel Macron is believed to maintain a 60-40 lead over far-right Marine Le Pen as France heads to the polls Sunday to pick a new president.
With runoff turnout expected to top 75 percent, French voters will centrally weigh in on France's place in Europe: Macron supports robust integration into the broader European community, while Le Pen promotes a populist, nationalist vision that prioritizes French interests. Immigration, security against terrorism, and a lagging economy are also expected to shape voters' decision.
Victory projections will be available around 2 p.m. ET. In the meantime, read The Week's Jeff Spross on this contest's similarities to the 2016 U.S. election and the challenge facing Macron.
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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