Macron set to face off against far-right Le Pen in French presidential election

French President Emmanuel Macron will face far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in a runoff election as they vie to lead France as the country’s president.

Following Sunday’s election of 12 candidates, Macron is expected to be the favorite in the runoff election, which is set for April 24. The top two candidates from the most recent election, Macron and Le Pen, will move on to the runoff round.

Initial polling projections showed Macron with just over 28 percent of the vote and Le Pen with slightly over 24 percent on Sunday, according to The New York Times. Le Pen’s numbers saw a late surge, possibly indicating voter dissatisfaction with inflation and security-related concerns. 

Two weeks away from the runoff election, Macron urged French voters “to unite against the far right.”

“The debate that we are going to have over the next fortnight will be decisive for our country and Europe,” he said in a speech on Sunday to his supporters broadcast by France 24.

The 44-year-old centrist saw an uptick in support amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a result of his mediation attempts to bring about a diplomatic solution to the conflict between the two countries. 

But momentum from those efforts lessened ahead of election day as the French president was late to his campaign trail push within the country due to his schedule, CNBC reported.

In the last election five years ago, Macron won in a significant victory but will face what is expected to be a more difficult competitor in the upcoming election against Le Pen. The 53-year-old candidate would be the country’s first female president if elected.