April 23 (UPI) -- Centrist French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen observed a campaign blackout Saturday in final 24 hours before a closely-watched runoff in which the incumbent held a lead.
Following a furious round of politicking on Friday, the two candidates retreated to their corners ahead of Sunday's voting in what political analysts have called a crucial contest over France's role in Europe and its domestic direction on human rights, immigration and the economy.
In the final hours before the second round of the presidential election, Macron held a 56.5% to 43.5% lead over Le Pen, according to an Ipsos-Sopra Steria poll conducted for the Paris newspaper Le Monde.
Those results were largely consistent with a 56%-44% lead for the incumbent in a similar poll conducted last week.
Related
But although Macron's advantage appeared to be holding, it is far less secure than the winning margin he posted five years ago as a political newcomer when he thrashed Le Pen by a 66%-34% margin.
In their final flurry of campaigning Friday, each launched fiery attacks on the other amid last-day meetings with voters and election rallies, with Le Pen -- leader of the right-wing National Rally party -- insisting that the polls are wrong.
"Polls aren't what decide an election," she declared at a rally in Étaples-sur-Mer, close to her biggest bastion of support around the northern region of Calais, according to the Guardian.
The populist repeated accusations that Macron represented an out-of-touch elite, characterized by "condescension and arrogance," and refuted his charges that her policies are unworkable.
She leveled her harshest criticism over Macron's plan to push the retirement age to 65 from 62.
The incumbent, however, swung back hard, playing on fears that Le Pen would work to remove France from its central role in European Union and roll back its commitment to green energy.
"This election is a referendum for or against the European Union, for or against ecology, for or against what we deeply believe in," he said at the end of a hard-fought, televised debate on Wednesday. The choice, he said, "is fundamental. It is in the hands of the French people. It is Macron, or France."
However, Macron's backers, including fellow EU leaders such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, remained fearful of a shock win by Le Pen, similar to the unexpected victories notched by right-leaning populists in 2016 with U.S. President Donald Trump's presidential victory and Britain's referendum to leave the EU.
A strong turnout is crucial to avoid that outcome, Macron insisted as he focused his final appeals on the supporters of far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who scored a close third-place finish in the first-round vote earlier this month, Radio France International reported.
