Rabat - According to several early exit polls, centrist candidate, Emmanuel Macron, has defeated far-right Marine Le Pen with a commanding 60+ percent of the vote.
Rabat – According to several early exit polls, centrist candidate, Emmanuel Macron, has defeated far-right Marine Le Pen with a commanding 60+ percent of the vote.
Amid campaign accusations of hacking and off-shore bank accounts, French voters abstained in record numbers. Fear of a decline in voters caused concern in the Macron camp who feared it would somehow favour Le Pen.
The decline in voters was sharp, falling to just 65.3 percent, from the usual 80 percent.
Brushing off those concerns, however, it appears 39-year-old Macron has emerged victorious.
By midday, both candidates had registered their votes, Macron in Le Touquet and Le Pen in the northern town of Henin-Beaumont.
The numbers are not confirmed, with the official results being announced by 7 p.m., BST.
This is breaking news and will be updated as more details become available.
