France election: Emmanuel Macron on track to WIN presidential election, early exit polls suggest

EMMANUEL Marcon is set to win France’s 2022 presidential election, early exit polls suggest. Macron is on track to become the first French president in 20 years to win re-election. Emmanuel Macron is on track to become the first French President in 20 years to win re-election AlamyMarine Le Pen came within striking distance of winning today’s presidential election[/caption] He is expected to beat his opponent and leader of the National Rally party Marine Le Pen with 58.2 per cent of the vote. Le Pen is expected to win 41.8 percent of the vote – a comfortable 16-point win for Macron. Election pundits predicted a close presidential race after Le Pen’s party won 47.5 percent in the runoff round of voting on April 10. Turnout was at 63.23 per cent among French voters by 5pm local time (4pm UK time) – down two percent from 2017 – the interior ministry said. MORE ON THE FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION SCARF ROW Marine Le Pen vows to BAN Muslim headscarf in public if she wins French election HERE COMES FREXIT France could be next to QUIT the EU, Macron warns Exit polls are not actual elections results. Instead, they are said to reflect voter sentiment on the day as pollsters survey voters at stations immediately after they cast their ballot Macron was leading the vote in the French presidential election with between 55 and 58 per cent of ballots going his way, according to Belgian newspaper La Libre and Belgian public broadcaster RTBF. Polling stations opened at 8am local time (7am UK time) and close at 7pm, although most major cities will be allowed to remain open for another hour until 8pm. Brussels can breath a sigh of relief after fears a shock victory for Le Pen in today’s presidential election failed to materialise. Most read in The Sun FURY VS WHYTE Fury KNOCKS OUT Whyte with sensational uppercut at Wembley KNOCKOUT! Inside 'pregnant' Paris Fury's £550k house with 6 bathrooms & £50k walk-in closet CROSSOVER CLASH Fury confirms he'll fight UFC champion Ngannou despite boxing retirement GYPSY QUEEN Paris Fury seen for first time since pregnancy claim by pal Carl Froch WON AND DONE Fury KOs Whyte with brutal uppercut before announcing RETIREMENT MAE DAY Molly-Mae Hague REFUSES to watch Tommy Fury fight despite sitting ringside for bout Experts claim the far-right Eurosceptic’s election win would cement “the end of the EU as we know it”. They said Le Pen’s win would have put France “on a direct collision course” with EU rules and bring the whole institution crashing down. James Shields, Professor of French Politics at the University of Warwick, says a Le Pen victory would “herald drastic changes in terms of France’s place within the EU”. He told The Sun Online: “Le Pen no longer argues overtly for French withdrawal from the EU and euro, as she did in 2017, declaring now her intent to reform the EU from within. “But her programme, if implemented, would pose critical challenges to France’s continued membership of the EU. “Her proposals on Europe amount to ‘Frexit’ in all but name.” Le Pen has been looking to unseat the incumbent president in a repeat of 2017’s election runoff, although the polling gap between the pair is far smaller this time round.