French President Francois Hollande endorsed pro-EU centrist Emmanuel Macron in the second round of the presidential election in a televised address on Monday.
Hollande said he “will vote Macron” and called on all voters to back the candidate in the second round of the presidential election. He also said France’s place in the world is at stake, calling the Front National candidate Marine Le Pen a “risk” for the country.
Voters in France began casting ballots on Sunday under heavy security, in the first round of the most unpredictable presidential election in decades. Though there were four main contenders in the election, a total of 11 candidates took part, most polling in single digits.
The conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon and Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon both conceded defeat, and urged their supporters to vote for centrist Emmanuel Macron in the May runoff against the populist Marine Le Pen.
Earlier, Le Pen criticized her opponent Emmanuel Macron while receiving an interview on her way back to the campaign trail, saying he was weak on terrorism and security.
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"Whether that be immigration, the growth of fundamentalism, the underhanded international competition which has done a lot of harm to our industries, to our farms, but also offshoring and the politics of austerity imposed by the European Union," she said to her supporters.
The populist candidate will compete against Macron in a presidential run off on May 7. On Monday evening she announced she was temporarily standing aside as Front National leader, to stand "above partisan considerations."
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