Voters in France rebuked traditional mainstream parties on Sunday by endorsing independent Emmanuel Macron and the National Front’s Marine Le Pen, setting the stage for a high-stakes run-off vote in two weeks’ time.

With nearly 90% of the votes declared, Macron held roughly 24% of the popular vote. Le Pen was a close second at nearly 22%.

On Friday EURUSD closed at 1.07274. Following the election results, the pair opened on Monday at 1.09134, during the Asian session but has since retraced some of its gains. The Euro, however, continues to be on a bullish run.

Republican Francois Fillon and communist-backed Jean-Luc Melenchon were Nos. 3 and 4 respectively, latest polling showed. Melenchon surged in the polls in the weeks leading up to the election, as Fillon came under fire over allegations he paid his wife hundreds of thousands of euros for a job she didn’t perform.^[1]

Conceding defeat, Fillon rallied his fellow Frenchmen and women against Le Pen, the far-right leader who has vowed to close France’s borders and eject her country from both the euro and European Union (EU).

“The National Front, the party created by Jean-Marie Le Pen, has a history known for its violence, its intolerance.  Its economic and social program would lead France to bankruptcy and, to that chaos, you would have to add the European chaos of exiting from the euro,” Fillon said.

“I assure you: Extremism can bring only misery and division to France. So, there is no option but to vote against the extreme right I will, therefore, vote for Emmanuel Macron,” he added.^[2]

Macron and Le Pen will now square off for the presidency in a second-round run-off election scheduled for May 7. Pollsters have long held that Macron will easily win in the second round. However, analysts have cautioned against writing off Le Pen entirely.

The results of Sunday’s election were widely predicted by pollsters, and highlighted the growing division in France’s political system. The outcome marked a major shift away from traditional French politics, with neither candidate hailing from an established party.