Macron and Le Pen set for a rematch in the second round of France's presidential elections

French polling agencies have projected that incumbent Emmanuel Macron and far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen are heading for another winner-takes-all runoff in the French presidential election, with their political rivalry and sharply opposing visions pulling clear of a crowded field of 12 candidates in the first round of voting.

Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are the two candidates who will face off for the second round of the presidential elections. © RFI

When the vote count is officially confirmed overnight, the pollsters’ initial projections mean France is gearing up for a repeat of the 2017 head-to-head contest that brought Macron to power, but there is no guarantee that this time the outcome will be the same.

The election’s result will have a wide international impact as Europe tries to contain the havoc wreaked by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Macron has strongly backed European Union sanctions on Russia while Le Pen has worried publicly about their impact on French living standards.

🗳️ #Elections2022

Les principaux soutiens des candidats se sont exprimés après l'annonce de la qualification d'Emmanuel Macron et Marine Le Pen pour le second tour de l'élection présidentiellehttps://t.co/82gdWFHr4Q pic.twitter.com/nei6kujWmD

— franceinfo (@franceinfo) April 10, 2022

France prepares for a bitter battle for the presidency

Macron, a 44-year-old political centrist, won by a landslide five years ago to become France’s youngest president.

But he is bracing for a far tougher runoff battle this time on 24 April against his 53-year-old political nemesis.

Le Pen is promising seismic shifts for France - both domestically and internationally - if elected as the country’s first woman president. 

She appears closer than ever to have a chance of reaching the Elysée Palace. 

Projections have shown that both Macron and Le Pen are on course to improve on their 2017 first-round showings, highlighting how French politics have become increasingly polarized.

The projections have given Macron a comfortable first-round lead of between 27-to-29 percent support, ahead of Le Pen, who is expected to capture 23-to-24 percent of the vote. 

Le Pen thanked her supporters Sunday night, saying the “French people honoured me by qualifying me for the second round” on 24 April. She appealed for those who didn’t vote for Macron in the first round to join her for the second.

Meanwhile, Macron urged citizens to block his far-right challenger in a speech to his supporters, where he underlined that "nothing is decided" yet.

He pledged to work to convince all voters, including those who abstained or voted for candidates on the far-right and hard-left, to return him to power.

• French Presidential Elections 2022 - The candidates and the policies - Part 1
• French Presidential Elections 2022 - The candidates and the policies - Part 2

Majority of defeated candidates rally to block Le Pen's bid for the Elysée

Some defeated candidates were so alarmed by the possibility of Le Pen beating Macron in the runoff that they urged their supporters to shift their second-round votes to the incumbent.

Mélenchon, addressing his supporters, some of them in tears, repeated three times that Le Pen shouldn't get “one single vote.” 

Describing herself as “profoundly worried,” defeated conservative contender Valérie Pécresse warned of “the chaos that would ensue” if Le Pen is elected and said she has never been so close to power. Pécresse said she'd vote for Macron in the runoff.

Pollsters suggest that just a few percentage points could separate the familiar foes in the second-round vote.

That nail-biting scenario sets up a runoff campaign likely to be far more confrontational and volatile than during round one, which was largely overshadowed by the war in Ukraine.