Tense France chooses between Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron

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PARIS — France voted Sunday for a new president following an unusually tense and scandal-filled campaign that pitted far-right populist Marine Le Pen against pro-business centrist Emmanuel Macron in an election that could decide Europe`s future.
Opinion polls favor Macron, 39, a former investment bank and economy minister who strongly supports the European Union, over Le Pen, 48, an anti-immigration nationalist with a France-first agenda.
Polling agency projections and initial official results are expected soon after the final voting stations close at 8 p.
France will elect either its youngest ever president or its first female leader.
Neither candidate comes from the center-left Socialists and center-right Republicans who have traditionally dominated French politics.
"These elections are crucial – Marine Le Pen is a risk, Macron is a risk," said Nathalie Saumure, a 63-year-old psychotherapist in Paris who was still undecided about which way to vote on Sunday morning.
"Macron is liberalism.
Le Pen is the first step into fascism.
Both are a very serious problem.
" The fate of the EU may hang in the balance as France`s 47 million voters decide whether to risk handing the presidency to Le Pen, who has vowed to quit the bloc, close France`s borders and restore the franc currency.
Macron, an independent, wants to deregulate France`s economy and strengthen the EU.
The vote will also help gauge the strength of global populism after the victories last year of a referendum to take Britain out of the EU and Donald Trump`s U.
 Global financial markets and France`s neighbors are watching carefully.
A French exit from the EU would be far more devastating than Britain`s departure, since France is the second-biggest economy after Germany to use the euro.
Germany holds an election in September.
Governments in Poland, Hungary and Turkey have made nationalist, right-wing advances.
"We are in a dynamic where countries are pulling inwards, into their national identities,” said Bruno Cautres, a political analyst at the Center for Political Research at Sciences Po, a university in Paris.
"Populist political forces in those countries undeniably managed to build on this era of great upheaval.
The climate in France is rather a climate that promotes Le Pen`s discourse.
Up to a quarter of French voters don`t like either of the two candidates and could abstain from voting, which might help Le Pen`s National Front party close a large gap — survey firm Elabe projected Macron could take 65% of the vote.
The final day of the campaign, on Friday, was marked by a hacking attack and document leak targeting Macron.
His En Marche! party said real documents were mixed with fake ones.
The perpetrators remain unknown.
Macron and Le Pen defeated nine other presidential candidates in a first round of elections last month.
 Incumbent President Francois Hollande opted not to run for reelection due to his abysmal popularity ratings.
Unemployment stands at 9.
6% and France his government has struggled to prevent terrorism or curb government corruption.
 Predictions of a low turnout and widespread voter dissatisfaction with mainstream politics were giving Le Pen’s supporters heart after a grueling election.
"I will vote for MLP with enthusiasm," said Marie France Wattelle, 71, a retired shopkeeper, using a popular acronym for Le Pen.
"I hope she wins but given the polls, we don`t know.
I count on people to put their trust in her at the last moment after weighting the pros and cons.
If they want to go on in the same manner as we have so far, then they will want Macron.
But if they want to change things, they will vote MLP.
" Still, Anand Menon, a professor of international relations at King`s College London, said there is one important similarity between Le Pen and Macron.
"Neither candidate comes from an established political party that`s been successful in the National Assembly," he said, referring to France`s powerful Parliament, which holds elections in June.
 "It raises issues around how the political system will function with a president who doesn`t control the National Assembly.
" French security was on high alert, too.
A man inspired by the Islamic State group shot and killed a police officer on the Champs-Élysées a few days before the first round of voting last month.
"I don`t like either of the two contenders.
Both of them want to reduce the number of public workers," said Parisian Abdelmjid Lahmouid, 42, a computer technician originally from Morocco.
"Between a rock and a hard place, we must choose.
" ►READ MORE: French election: What you should know The reasons the French election is a big deal Marine Le Pen vs.
Emmanuel Macron: French candidates couldn`t be more different She`s 64.
He`s 39 and could be France`s next president USA TODAY`s Kim Hjelmgaard contributed from London.
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