FRENCH ELECTION: CENTER AND FAR-RIGHT WILL FIGHT SECOND ROUND|法總統大選 中間派馬克宏.極右派勒朋進第二輪

Latest results of the first round of the 2017 French presidential election show Centrist Emmanuel Macron and Far-right Leader Marine Le Pen set for a face-off in the second round on May.7. Many say that this election, where the country's mainstream parties have been conspicuously sidelined, is France's most consequential election in recent history in that it will likely decide the future of not just the country, but possibly that of the European Union. Supporters of Centrist Emmanuel Macron and Far-right Leader Marine Le Pen celebrated their victory in the first round of France's presidential election with a high turnout around 80 percent. This is the first time in French modern history that the second round of presidential election will not include a candidate from either of the two mainstream political families, the Socialists and the Republicans. Le Pen and Macron call for voters to make a change and bring them to the presidency. ==MARINE LE PEN French presidential candidate== You have the option of a change of government, the real one. Not the one that saw government after government and nothing changing. What I propose to you is the great alternative, the fundamental alternative that will install a new politic, other faces in power and the renewal to which you aspire. ==EMMANUEL MACRON French presidential candidate== Tonight my friends, I owe it to you and I know it. It's your duty to continue to pursue this vibrant commitment until the end and beyond, never give up, never forget those months during which you have changed the course of our country. Remain the brave and demanding people that you are. It is yours to continue to follow this path. With 89.7 percent of the votes counted, France's Interior Ministry said that both Macron and Le Pen had over 20 percent of vote. The last votes to be counted will come from France's biggest cities. Former conservative Prime Minister François Fillon, engulfed in a corruption scandal, claimed his defeat. He urged his supporters to back Macron, to prevent an extremist party to enter the Elysee Palace. ==FRANCOIS FILLON, defeated French presidential candidate== The National Front, this party created by Jean-Marie Le Pen (Marine Le Pen's father) has a history that is known for its violence and for its intolerance. Its social and economic program would lead our country to bankruptcy and to this chaos, we would have to add the European chaos, with the exit from the euro. I assure you, extremism can only bring unhappiness and division. There is no other choice but to vote against the far-right. I will therefore vote in favor of Emmanuel Macron. The two top candidates will begin the two-week, run-off phase of its presidential election today, after the first round saw 9 of 11 candidates eliminated. The second round of the presidential election will be held on May.7. It will follow a televised debate on May.3, in which the two are expected to attack each other on the issues of the EU, immigration and international finance. TRANSLATED BY：ARIEL HSIEH