France's presidential rivals Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are set to go head-to-head in a televised debate on Wednesday night, their last encounter before the presidential run-off vote on Sunday. 

Independent centrist Macron finished only three percentage points ahead of populist Le Pen in the first round of votes on April 23. The two remaining presidential hopefuls have proven popular with the campaigns differing from those run by the traditional center-right and center-left parties, with both candidates representing two possible directions for France to take.

Voters are choosing between pro-Europe ex-banker Macron, who wants to cut state regulations on the economy and protect workers, and Eurosceptic Le Pen, who wants to reject the euro currency and sharply reduce immigration.

Some analysts said Macron and Le Pen will mainly rely on their "eloquence" and personalities to win votes, for their policies are already well known after lengthy election campaigns. But while the televised debate will provide one final chance for the two rivals to face off, for observers it will be hard to predict Sunday's winner from it.

Statistics show 21 percent of viewers were convinced by Macron in a televised debate before the first round of votes, while 11 percent were swayed by Le Pen. However, there was eventually only a narrow gap between the two in the first round of voting.

Both Macron and Le Pen have adjusted their campaign strategies to win support from voters who remain undecided on who to choose in the second round. For example, Macron has been critical of the EU and called for its urgent reform, showing his understanding of eurosceptic sentiment, while Le Pen has sought to reassure middle-ground voters that leaving the EU will not be an absolute priority for her.