France’s Macron to face far-right rival Le Pen in presidential election runoff

The cost of living and the war in Ukraine have been front and center of the political debate ahead of the French vote.

According to exit polls, centrist leader Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen will face off in the final round of the presidential election on April 24.

A flurry of early projections and exit polls showed incumbent Macron coming in first with 28.1-29.5% of the vote, followed by Le Pen on 23.3-24.4%. Some political analysts had predicted a close race between Le Pen and Macron, but the difference between the two was not as large as they had thought.

Left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon came third with 20% of the vote. According to reports, the election turnout was 4% lower than last year.

Ahead of the first-round vote, the cost of living and the Russia-Ukraine war were front and center.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and his mediation efforts, support for Macron jumped. The French president tried to broker a cease-fire between Moscow and Kyiv and called on the EU to take strong action against the Kremlin.

The voter polls tightened right up until election day, with the candidate being late to his domestic campaign trail due to his busy schedule.

Higher energy prices and a spike in inflation have been caused by the conflict. His opponent, Le Pen, who heads up the anti-immigration National Rally party, used the issue in her campaign.

Le Pen is seen as economically left-wing despite being affiliated with the far fight in France. Some of the recent skittishness in markets at the prospect of a Le Pen presidency has been attributed to concerns around the political and economic unity of Europe.

Le Pen sympathizes with Russia and has doubts about the European Union. She tried to distance herself from Putin and her staff denied reports that they were ordered to destroy thousands of leaflets that included a photo of Le Pen.

In the final round of the French elections, the pair faced each other, with Le Pen getting 33.9% of the votes. In the first round of the election, centrist and liberal leader of the En Marche party,Macron, received over 25% of the vote, while the far-right leader of the National Front, Le Pen, received over 20%.

Le Pen is no longer campaigning for an exit from the EU or the euro, but her ascent to the presidency would likely throw a wrench in the works for the bloc.

CNBC's Elliot Smith contributed to the article.