Le Pen closing in on Macron in French presidential battle

Ahead of Sunday’s first round of voting in the French Presidential elections, right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen’s gap to Emmanuel Macron is reportedly “within the margin for error”.

Pro-Macron, former PM Manuel Valls claimed, “it’s one minute to midnight” in a column Monday, while Macron warned supporters at a rally Saturday that “the extremist danger today is even greater than it was a few months ago”.

The latest opinion poll from Harris Interactive suggests Macron is ahead 51.5% to Le Pen’s 48.5% – a huge swing from Macron’s 33% victory in 2017. The second and final round of voting is set for April 24.