Nevertheless, with several defeated candidates calling on supporters to stop her, Le Pen she seems destined to suffer a similar fate to her father when she goes up against Macron in two weeks’ time.
Defeated Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon, Socialist Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and defeated right-wing candidate Francois Fillon all urged voters to rally behind Macron in the second round.
A new Harris survey saw Macron winning the runoff by 64 percent to 36, and an Ipsos/Sopra Steria poll gave a similar result.
In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman hailed Macron’s success, tweeting: “Good that @EmmanuelMacron succeeded with his policy for a strong EU and social market economy. Wishing him all the best for the next two weeks.”
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker expressed similar good wishes for the second round, his spokesman said in Brussels.
It was a bitter night for Fillon, seen as a shoo-in for the Elysee until he was hit in January by allegations that his wife had been paid from the public purse for work she did not do.
Ifop give him 20.0 percent in the first round and far-left contender Jean-Luc Melenchon 19.5 percent.
“This defeat is mine and it is for me and me alone to bear it,” Fillon, a 63-year-old former conservative prime minister, told a news conference, adding that he would now vote for Macron.
The two politicians left in the race offer radically contrasting economic visions for a countrywhose economy lags that of its neighbors and where a quarter of young people are unemployed.
Macron’s gradual deregulation measures are likely to be welcomed by global financial markets, as are cuts in state expenditure and the civil service. Le Pen wants to print money to finance expanded welfare payments and tax cuts, ditch the euro currency and possibly pull out of the EU.
“Markets will be reassured that the dreaded Le Pen versus Mélenchon run-off has been avoided,” said Diego Iscaro, an economist from IHS Markit.
“As a result, we expect some recovery in French bond prices, while the euro is also likely to benefit,” he said. “However, a lot can happen in two weeks and French assets are likely under some pressure until the second round is out of the way.”
Timothy Ash, an economist at Bluebay asset management, said Trump’s victory last November marked a turning point for electorates playing the protest card.
“Despite all the hype about the rise of populism, 60 percent of voters went for mainstream candidates … In an uncertain world, they rather go for what they know best and want to take fewer risks,” he said.
