Le Pen

A week before the decisive second round in France's presidential election, many voters are skeptical that either of the two candidates can solve chronic unemployment or tackle security concerns, a poll published on Sunday found, reported Reuters.

Emmanuel Macron told striking factory workers that he can do nothing to save their jobs from cheap foreign labour when he paid them a last-minute visit on Wednesday.

Macron, who is pro-globalisation, had not been scheduled to speak with Whirlpool staff in his hometown of Amiens, but was forced to make a detour after Marine Le Pen went to see them earlier in the day.

Far right candidate Marine Le Pen announced Monday that she is temporarily standing down as the leader of National Front in order to beef up her national appeal against the independent, centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron.

Yet, while conventional wisdom is that Macron will now beat Le Pen, potentially by a huge landslide, the race could be tighter than some expect.

Far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has announced that she is stepping aside as leader of her National Front (FN) party, BBC reported.

The move comes just a day after she reached the second round of the French election, where she will face centrist Emmanuel Macron.

Ms Le Pen told French TV she needed to be above partisan considerations.

In a victory speech Sunday evening, Front National anti-mass migration candidate Marine Le Pen called on patriots in France to support her against Emmanuel Macron, who she called the heir of unpopular French President Francois Hollande.

Pro-European centrist Emmanuel Macron and anti-immigration leader Marine Le Pen began a final duel for the French Presidency on April 24, after a first round of voting delivered a stunning blow to the traditional political class.

France voted on April 23 under heavy security in the first round of the most unpredictable presidential election in decades, with the outcome seen as vital for the future of the beleaguered European Union.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron were the favorites to progress to a run-off on May 7.

France began voting on April 23 under heavy security in the first round of the most unpredictable presidential election in decades, with the outcome seen as vital for the future of the beleaguered European Union.

Europe and the rest of the word are on the edge of their seats as nearly 47 million French voters are going to the voting booths to choose their candidate in the first round of the French Presidential elections on Sunday, April 23. Voting has already began after the conclusion of an acrimonious campaign between the four major candidates.

More than half of police officers in France have said they are voting for far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in Sunday’s election because of her strong anti-terror stance.

According to the IFOP poll, 51 per cent of the Gendarmerie are planning to back Le Pen in the nail-biting election.