ANKARA

In round one of the 2022 French presidential elections, on April 10, incumbent Emmanuel Macron led with 27.85% of the vote followed by far-right candidate Marine Le Pen with 23.15%, propelling both into a runoff set for April 24.

However the elections have so far been anything but a replay of the first Macron-Le Pen faceoff, in 2017, which Macron won. In the first round of that year’s elections, Macron won 24% of the votes while Le Pen got 21%.

Le Pen is currently a member of the French National Assembly. She is best known as a member of the French far-right's first family, and this is her latest bid to seek the top seat.

While in 2017 she warned about what she called "Islamist totalitarianism" and Macron's intention to "swamp" France with immigrants, this time around she has instead focused on rising prices and the cost of living.

President Macron has already served five years and now is seeking to claim a second term in office. He promised a "new way" of governing after the first round of elections. Macron himself is well aware that his battle with Le Pen will not yield an easy victory.

Macron said he did not want a France that would have international demagogues and xenophobes as its only allies, but he is also determined to restrict access to residence permits and has vowed automatic expulsion for rejected asylum applications.

Le Pen, for her part, has promised to halt “abuse” of the right to asylum. She plans to hold a referendum on restricting immigration. While full-face veils are banned in France, Le Pen also wants to ban the Islamic hijab in public areas.

The two finalists represent starkly opposing extremes of ideologies and political programs. They are set to face off in the second round of the presidential elections on April 24, just over a week away.