French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen announced on Monday that she's temporarily stepping down as leader of her party, the far-right National Front.
In the first round of voting centrist Emmanuel Macron won 23.9 per cent and Le Pen received 21.4 per cent. Le Pen told French TV on Monday night that she needed to be above partisan considerations.
"There is a revolt of the people against the elite" seen in Britain's Brexit vote and "probably" in the election of USA president Donald Trump, Ms Le Pen said in a TF-1 television show.
In Ireland, Ms Le Pen secured 3.98% of votes cast here, while Mr Macron secured 44.87%.
The conservative Le Figaro daily lamented the defeat of the conservative Republicans, whose scandal-hit candidate Francois Fillon trailed in third with 19.9 percent.
In a story that would likely sink a candidate's chances in a more uptight country (uh, here), the 39-year-old Macron first met his 64-year-old wife, Brigitte Trogneux, when he was 15.
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The voter turnout is expected to drop significantly from the first round, as many people will boycott the election in protest of the available alternatives.
"Tonight, I am no longer the president of the National Front".
"Let's promote the "eating French" especially in (school) canteens where our children must take advantage of healthy, quality products", she said. The Elabe poll says that 64 percent of voters will favor Emmanuel Macron on May 7, while a projection by Ifop Fiducial gave Macron 60 percent of the share.
That leaves very little room for Le Pen to realistically engineer a Trump-style surprise coup, even with the added distance between her and the far right.
Macron was Hollande's economy minister from 2014 to 2016 when he quit to form his own centrist movement En Marche (On The Move).
Ms Le Pen accused Mr Macron of being a "hysterical, radical Europeanist" who believes he can do whatever he wants with the country. Le Pen can count only on herself. "I am the candidate for the French Presidency", she has accounted for 68% of all bets on the next French President market and 48% of stakes placed.
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