Mr Macron, a former banker, is seen as a political outsider, having never run an election campaign before.

After topping Sunday’s vote, he is now favourite to win the run-off on 7 May.

It is the first time in six decades that neither of France’s main left-wing or right-wing parties has had a candidate in the second round.

How tight is the race?

Mr Macron won 23.8% of votes in the first round, while Ms Le Pen took 21.5%.

Their nearest challengers, centre-right François Fillon and hard-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon, fell behind, with just over 19% each.

But several political rivals are now expected to unite behind Mr Macron in the run-off vote, in a bid to keep Ms Le Pen’s Front National (FN) from power.

What does Mr Macron stand for?

At 39, Mr Macron could become the youngest president France has ever had – and would be the first president in the Fifth Republic without the backing of an established party.

Mr Macron was current President Francois Hollande’s economy minister but quit to create his own party, En Marche, which pushes a liberal, pro-EU agenda.

His campaign promises include:

• A €50bn (£43bn; $53bn) public investment plan to cover job-training, exit from coal and shift to renewable energy, infrastructure and modernisation
• Big cut in corporation tax and more leeway for companies to renegotiate 35-hour week

• Cut in jobless rate to 7% (now 9.7%)

• Ban on mobile phone use in schools for under-15s and a €500 culture pass for 18 year olds

In a victory speech to supporters, Mr Macron borrowed language favoured by his rival to describe himself as the patriotic choice for France.

“I hope that in a fortnight I will become your president. I want to become the president of all the people of France – the president of the patriots in the face of the threat from the nationalists,” he said.

What about Ms Le Pen?

Ms Le Pen took over the FN leadership from her father in January 2011 and helped her party secure big gains in regional elections.

Her party wants to slash immigration, clamp down on free trade, and overturn France’s relationship with Europe.

Her campaign has called for:

• Negotiation with Brussels on a new EU, followed by a referendum

• “Automatic” expulsion of illegal immigrants and legal immigration cut to 10,000 per year following an immediate total moratorium

• “Extremist” mosques closed and priority to French nationals in social housing

• Retirement age fixed at 60 and 35-hour week assured

Following the first round results, Ms Le Pen made an “appeal to all patriots”, saying a vote for her was the key to the “survival of France”.

Le Pen supporters celebrating her win

“Wherever they come from, whatever their origin, whatever they voted for in the first round, I invite them all to join us and to abandon ancient quarrels and to concentrate on what is essential for our country,” she said.

Who is likely to win?

Correspondents say the next head of state is almost certain to be Mr Macron, as most other parties are now backing him.

Benoit Hamon, the candidate of President Hollande’s Socialist Party who failed to make an impact in the first round, urged those who voted for him to support Mr Macron in the next stage.

Mr Fillon has done the same.

But Mr Macron may struggle to secure a majority in the national assembly, as he does not have the backing of an established political party.

This means he would have to negotiate to have his policies approved through parliament – which could be challenging.

What do the results mean for the EU?

Many European leaders have been congratulating Mr Macron on the first round results – as they are keen to strengthen the union after Brexit.

Mr Macron addressed the nation in front of an EU flag as the results came in – something noticed by both pro and anti-EU politicians.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, Steffan Seibert, tweeted: “It’s good that Emmanuel Macron was successful with his course for a strong EU and social market economy. All the best for the next two weeks.”

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also congratulated him, as did EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

“The result is the hope and future of our generation,” she tweeted.

Anti-EU politicians, on the other hand, have congratulated Ms Le Pen for making the second round.

Dutch MP Geert Wilders, who leads the anti-immigration Freedom Party, said the results were a “bright day for patriots in France and elsewhere who want more national sovereignty and less EU and immigration”.

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Source: BBC

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For weeks, he has fought allegations that his wife was paid for years for work she did not do.

“It’s a political assassination,” Mr Fillon told reporters on Wednesday.

He has now been summoned to appear before the judge, Serge Tournaire, on 15 March.

The date is just two days before the deadline for candidates to submit their final applications. The first round takes place on 23 April, followed by a second-round run-off on 7 May.

What did he say?
In a combative speech on Wednesday announcing the formal investigation, Mr Fillon called on his supporters to “resist”, saying it was up to voters to decide his fate.

“It’s not just me that is being assassinated, it’s the presidential election. The voices of millions of votes have been muzzled,” the Republican candidate complained.

He said he would respect the summons and tell the judge the truth.

The judge, Mr Tournaire, has heard several high-profile cases, including those of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and tycoon Bernard Tapie.

Who is Francois Fillon?
A former prime minister during Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidency, he was selected late last year in national primaries held by the centre-right Republicans that attracted some four million voters.

For a time he was the favourite in the race to succeed Francois Hollande as president, but then came the “fake jobs” allegations in satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine.

His appearances have recently been accompanied by loud protests and he has accused the government of allowing the campaign to turn into “a climate of quasi civil war”.

He has slipped to third in the polls, behind far-right National Front (FN) leader Marine le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron.

Ms Le Pen also faces allegations that she misused EU funds – a claim she denies.

One of her aides is under police investigation over the allegations – but Ms Le Pen has refused a police interview, using her immunity as a European member of parliament.

What is he accused of?
The allegations circling around the Fillon family focus mainly on his Welsh-born wife Penelope.

Le Canard Enchaine alleged she was paid €831,400 (£710,000; $900,000) over several years for working as a parliamentary assistant but reportedly had no parliamentary pass. She was also alleged to have picked up €100,000 for writing a handful of articles for a literary journal.

The family has consistently denied the claims. Initially Mr Fillon said he would stand down as a candidate if his case was placed under formal investigation, but recently he insisted that he would fight on “until victory”.

“The closer we get to the date of the presidential election, the more scandalous it would be to deprive the right and centre of a candidate,” he said.

Mr Fillon cancelled a key visit to an agricultural show at the last minute on Wednesday morning prompting speculation over the future of his presidential campaign.

“It’s like symbolically giving up on your candidacy,” said Florian Philippot, close adviser to far-right National Front (FN) candidate Marine Le Pen.

How have people reacted?
One of Mr Fillon’s key allies, former agriculture minister Bruno Le Maire, has resigned from the campaign team.

Mr Le Maire said he felt Mr Fillon had broken his promise that he would step down if formally investigated.

Keeping one’s word was “indispensable to the credibility of politics”, he said in a statement on Twitter (in French).

However, other Republicans have expressed their support.

Politician Bernard Debre said the investigation was an attempt to thwart Mr Fillon’s presidential hopes, and said he was “doing the right thing” by staying in the race.

Meanwhile, rival Mr Macron said investigators should be “allowed to do [their] work as normal”.

He added that even if Mr Fillon won the vote, he would not be automatically cleared of wrongdoing.
Far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon criticised Mr Fillon’s decision, tweeting (in French): “Fillon is asking somehow for the citizens to vote for his immunity. This is not the point of an election.”

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Source: BBC

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