Results of the first round of presidential election in France are released

The current President of France, Emmanuel Macron, after counting 97 percent of the protocols, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic, retains leadership in the elections, gaining 27.6 percent of the vote. The leader of the right-wing National Rally party, Marine Le Pen, is the second (23.41 percent), while Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing France Insubordinate party, is the third (21.95 percent). In the French metropolitan region, Mélenchon, who is no longer a candidate for the second round, took first place (30.24 percent of the vote), followed by Macron (30.19 percent) and Le Pen (12.97 percent).