Who will be the next French president?

Centrist Emmanuel Macron topped the initial polls on April 23, 2017 and looked well on course to beat far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in a run-off on May 7. (Photo by AFP)

The election has revealed high levels of angst over a perceived erosion of French identity.

The far right candidate Marine Le Pen, who came second in the first round to centrist Emmanuel Macron, returned to her party's core themes of immigration and Islam to try to mobilize her base. Le Pen has pinned on immigration, particularly from Muslim North Africa. Three-quarters of non-FN voters said the party as "dangerous for democracy" and four out of five found it racist."

48-year-old National Front (FN) leader lashed out at Macron and Fillon, accusing them of being soft on radical Islam. Casting herself as the best defender against the extremists who have killed over 230 people in France since 2015, Le Pen also tore into Fillon, accusing him of letting ultraconservative Islam gain ground when he was prime minister between 2007 and 2012. 


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