PARIS Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron is expected to win France’s presidential election, according to an Ipsos Sopra Steria poll released on Tuesday – the latest of many surveys showing the 39-year-old Macron as frontrunner.
The poll said that if the election were held next Sunday, far-right leader Marine Le Pen would have the most votes in the first round, at 25 percent, compared to 24 percent for Macron and 18 percent for conservative Francois Fillon.
However, Macron would go on to resoundingly beat Le Pen in the two-way decider vote on May 7, with 62 percent for Macron compared to 38 percent for Le Pen, added the poll.
The Ipsos Sopra Steria survey said Macron would benefit in the second round from supporters of Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon, whose risks elimination in the opening round and whose campaign has been flagging of late.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Brian Love)
