Macron Ahead of Le Pen By 1% in 1st Round of French Presidential Elections

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen's chances to win the first round of the elections against independent hopeful Emmanuel Macron have decreased by 0.5 percent since Monday and is now lagging behind her opponent by one point, an Ifop poll showed Tuesday.

PARIS (Sputnik) – According to the survey, Macron is set to beat Le Pen with 23 percent to her 22 percent. Head of left-wing political movement La France Insoumise (Unsubmissive France) Jean-Luc Melenchon is 0.5 percent ahead of The Republicans' nominee Francois Fillon, who lost 0.5 percent since Monday and now stands to receive 19 percent of the projected votes.

The survey, which was carried out between April 14 and April 15 among 1,851 people, also showed that 30 percent of potential voters would abstain from casting their ballot.

The first round of the French presidential election is scheduled for this Sunday, while the run-off is set for May 7.

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