Leaders of Germany, Spain and Portugal urge French to vote Macron

Joint op-ed states failure of Brexit should be a warning against Le Pen but her team says outside interference is rarely welcomed

The leaders of Germany, Spain and Portugal have publicly backed Emmanuel Macron in Sunday's French presidential election runoff, calling on French voters to support freedom, democracy and a stronger Europe" - and taking a swipe at Brexit.

In a highly unusual intervention in another country's election, Olaf Scholz, Pedro Sanchez and Antonio Costa said in an op-ed column in the leading French daily Le Monde that France's second-round vote was for us, not an election like any other".