French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen made final appeals on Friday to undecided voters weighing fears of what a Le Pen presidency could bring against their anger at Macron's record, Trend reports citing Reuters.
According to the latest surveys for Sunday's run-off, fear may win the day over loathing: Macron the centrist, pro-European incumbent leads his anti-immigration, eurosceptic challenger by 10-14 points, well outside margins of error.
But the fact that nearly three in 10 voters say they will not vote or have not made up their minds means a surprise Le Pen win similar to events such as Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president cannot entirely be ruled out.
Wrapping up his campaign in the postcard-pretty medieval village of Figeac in southern France, Macron told voters that Sunday was no less than a plebiscite on the country's future.
"April 24 will be a referendum for or against Europe - we want Europe," he said. "April 24 will be a referendum for or against a secular, united, indivisible France ... we are for."
Surveys by France's leading pollsters published on Thursday and Friday showed Macron's score was either stable or slightly rising to reach between 55.5% and 57.5%.
But they also put turnout at between 72% and 74%, which would be the lowest for a presidential run-off since 1969.