France election: Five reasons why the Macron-Le Pen face-off will look very different this time

EMMANUEL Macron goes into the French presidential run-off as the frontrunner ahead of Marine Le Pen, with his first-round lead over his rival slightly larger than it was in 2017.

But round two of the duel between the pro-European centrist and his nationalist challenger looks set to be a very different, much closer race than it was five years ago.

Since Macron’s then-new “En Marche” movement strode to power, the political landscape has evolved significantly.

Today, the incumbent represents the establishment, and winning over an angry, divided France to keep the far-right out will be a much harder task.

The prospect of Le Pen finally entering the Elysée is a real possibility.

• Six takeaways from the first round of France’s presidential election

1. ‘Far-right at the gates of power’ – a much tighter race predicted

The alarm bells amid the surge in support for Le Pen in the run-up to