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French presidential runoff: Both Macron and Le Pen 'are clearly trying to woo Mélenchon's voters'

The second round of the French presidential election presents voters with two opposing visions of France: Macron offers a pro-European, liberal platform, while Le Pen's nationalist manifesto is founded on deep Euroscepticism. After more than half of the electorate voted for far-right or hard left candidates in the first round, Macron's lead in opinion polls is narrower than five years ago. One voter survey on Tuesday projected he would win with 56.5% of the vote. Joining FRANCE 24 for in-depth analysis of the French presidential runoff is Professor Ariane Bogain, Senior Lecturer in French and Politics at Northumbria University. Several things are standing out for Professor Bogain as France heads back to the polls: Le Pen "has been under far more scrutiny than she was in the first round." All the while, Macron is "finally in the campaign," holding numerous rallies. And, most importantly, "there's been a clear shift from Macron towards the left." This as both candidates seek to attract the 22% of the electorate who went all in for Mélenchon in the first round. Aside from these observations, Professor Bogain asserts that "the defining factor is going to be the abstention rate, not just in terms of the level, but in terms of who abstains."