The euro was last 1.3 per cent higher against the U.S. dollar at US$1.0866, not far from the 5-1/2-month high of US$1.0935 it reached after the initial indications from the Sunday vote gave victory to Mr Macron, as predicted by weeks of polling. Le Pen, best described as a national socialist, would like to take France out of worldwide institutions, including both the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation; block borders; curtail trade; and impose quasi-Marxist state-dominated economics. The contest is widely seen as a litmus test for the populist wave that past year prompted Britain to vote to leave the European Union and USA voters to elect Donald Trump president.
On Sunday night, Ms Le Pen and her allies dismissed Mr Macron as the candidate of a dying establishment.
Founder and Leader of the political movement 'En Marche!' Emmanuel Macron, and National Front Party Leader Marine Le Pen, will compete in the next round of the French Presidential Elections on May 7 to decide the next President of France.
She added: "He is a hysterical, radical "Europeanist".
There is a slight crack in the unified wall this time around: The far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon is refusing to endorse Macron.
For Le Pen, the answer to security, terrorism and economy issues is to block legal and illegal immigration, cease admitting refugees, say goodbye to the European Union and reintroduce the franc.
The 39-year-old candidate is the projected victor in most polls, as initial opinion polls show Le Pen to be 24 to 28 percentage points behind Macron.
"She has racist ideas and it's not possible that France would elect such a president". True, some Republican politicians and thought leaders expressed doubts about Trump, but few actively threw their support to Hillary Clinton.
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Both candidates have now returned to the campaign trail, with less than two weeks to go before French voters return to the ballot boxes.
Mr. Macron, who campaigned on a pro-Europe political platform with promises of economic reforms and better governance, won 23.75% of the vote, while Ms. Le Pen, who during the campaign repeatedly attacked the European Union, globalisation and France's immigration policies to drum up support, came second, polling 21.53%.
"That was disdainful towards the French people", Phillipot said. "The center is stronger than the populists think!"
Secondly, even if polls of a two-horse race between Macron and Le Pen are to be believed - that Macron will end up with 60 percent of the votes and Le Pen with 40 percent - that would still cause a political natural disaster.
Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie, made it into a presidential runoff against Jacques Chirac in 2002 and was crushed. If this support reflects in the popular will, Mr. Macron will repeat history. She inherited her father's party and we will undoubtedly have Le Pens running for the next 20 years. "France is less open minded than people believe", she said.
It should come as no surprise then that Le Pen's allies are already preparing for the next presidential election, set to be held in 2022. Turnout was 78 per cent, down slightly from 79 per cent in the first round of presidential voting in 2012.
The anti-fascist groups clashed with the police, leaving six officers and three rioters injured.
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