‍France’s conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon and Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon have both conceded defeat, and urged their supporters to vote for centrist Emmanuel Macron in the May runoff against the populist Marine Le Pen.

Fillon declared he would vote for Macron after polling projections suggested he would finish in third place. He said there was “no other option but to vote against the far right”. Hamon, the candidate from the ruling Socialist party, also endorsed Macron after projections showed him finishing in a distant fifth place, the worst performance by a center-left candidate since 1969. 

Both have called on their supporters to vote for Macron.

"We must choose what is preferable for our country. I am doing this with a heavy heart but abstention does not run in my genes, especially when an extremist party is getting close to power. I assure you, extremism can only bring unhappiness and division. There is no other choice but to vote against the far-right. I will therefore vote in favor of Emmanuel Macron." Said Fillon.

"I am calling to beat in the strongest and most powerful way possible the National Front, to beat the far-right by voting for Emmanuel Macron. Even if the latter does not belong to the left and has no desire to represent it tomorrow, I am making a clear and absolute distinction between a political adversary and an enemy of the Republic.”Hamon shared Fillon’s view on this. However, French far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon refused to throw his support behind either hopeful, criticizing both candidates' programs for lacking environmental policies and institutional reforms. 

However, French far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon refused to throw his support behind either hopeful, criticizing both candidates' programs for lacking environmental policies and institutional reforms.