France faces bruising runoff after Macron and Le Pen top first-round vote

Projected results in first part of presidential race put centrist leader on 27.6% and far-right candidate on 23%

• France election: calls begin for voters to block far-right Le Pen
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France faces a brutal two-week campaign over the country's future, as the centrist incumbent, Emmanuel Macron, faces the far-right Marine Le Pen for the presidency, positioning himself as a pro-European progressive" against what he calls her anti-Muslim, nationalist programme and complacency" about Vladimir Putin.

Macron topped Sunday's first round of the French presidential election with 27.6% of the vote, ahead of Le Pen's 23%, according to initial projected results by Ipsos for France Televisions.