Le Pen Expected to Win 1st Round of Election, Chances of Macron, Fillon Increase

French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen is still projected to be the leader of the first round of the election, with 26 percent of votes, while chances of both independent candidate Emmanuel Macron and The Republicans' candidate Francois Fillon increased by 0.5 percent, an Ifop poll showed Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Macron is expected to win 25.5 percent of votes, while Fillon is projected to finish the race third with 19.5 percent.

The Socialist candidate for the presidency, Benoit Hamon, will gather the support of 13.5 percent in the first round, according to the poll.

Comparing with the beginning of the week, only Macron and Hamon remained stable. Fillon slightly improved his positions, as on Monday the projected public support for him amounted to 19 percent, while the National Front presidential candidate lost 0.5 percent since Monday.

The French presidential election is scheduled for April 23, while the run-off is set for May 7.