Who is Emmanuel Macron? The independent centrist battling Marine Le Pen in French election

He’s the independent centrist who’s gone through to the second round of the French election along with far-right leader Marine Le Pen – but who is Emmanuel Macron?

Macron, whose party is called En Marche, is now favourite to win the run-off on May 7, but the National Front politician is not out of the race yet.

Le Pen, whose father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, a notorious figure in French politics, led the anti-immigration party from 1972 to 2011, is better known. But Macron, a former banker who has enjoyed a meteoric rise, is more of a mystery.

Here is what we know about them — and how each of their policies differ.

Traditional politics

Both candidates have promised to shake up French politics, and have both dismissed the idea of the political left and right. “There is no consensus in the two key political parties on all these issues,” Mr Macron has said, describing the traditional spectrum as “irrelevant”. “My country needs a new political offer.”

Le Pen argues that the new battle line is drawn between “globalists and patriots”. She added that “the French have been dispossessed of their patriotism.”

Immigration

“We will apply national priority on employment through an additional tax on all new contracts for foreign employees,” Le Pen has said of her “national priority” policies. She has said that “interlopers” want to turn France into a “giant squat” and plans curb migration to a net 10,000 people per year.

Macron, by contrast, is in favour of strengthening the EU’s external borders, but has said that security would “not be better served by closing national borders”. He says immigration should be handled by the EU, not individual governments.

MORE: The French election, Marine Le Pen and the rise of populism
MORE: French election: Emmanuel Macron beats Marine Le Pen

Tax and the economy

Macron, 39, an ex-banker, has promised to cut taxes and public sector jobs if elected. In a move that is aimed at enticing banks to relocate from London post-Brexit, Macron has promised a substantial reduction in corporation tax to 25pc from its current 33.3pc. “These conditions will help to attract talented professionals and jobs to France,” his economics advisor, Jean Pisani-Ferry, said.

Despite his promise to save £60bn in public funding, he has criticised François Fillon, the conservative candidate who was rejected in the first round of voting, and his plans for “brutal cuts that blindly eat into state spending”.

Le Pen has proposed a system of “intelligent protectionism”, which includes a three per cent tax on imports and rejection of international trade treaties. Le Pen has promised to lower the retirement age, reduce taxes and energy bills, but her “patriotic” fiscal politics are coloured by her views on French identity.

Frexit and the EU

Le Pen thinks the EU is a “huge prison”. “We had been told that it was not possible to leave the EU, and the UK has just demonstrated that, when the people want it, we can set up the conditions to exit the EU,” Le Pen told Nigel Farage during an interview that turned into something of an anti-EU love-in. She plans to “renegotiate” France’s relationship with the union within six months. If that fails, a referendum will follow.

Macron, who is hugely pro-EU, has said he proposes to “restore the credibility of France in the eyes of Germany, to convince Berlin in the next six months to adopt an active investment policy and move towards greater solidarity in Europe.”

Islam

“No religion is a problem in France today,” Macron said during a rally in October 2016. “If the state should be neutral, which is at the heart of secularism, we have a duty to let everybody practice their religion with dignity.”

After the recent Paris shootings, Le Pen said: “Islamism is a monstrous totalitarian ideology that has declared war on our nation, on reason, on civilisation.”

“We do not want to live under the rule or threat of Islamic fundamentalism,” she has told supporters. She has condemned the hijab, prayer rooms in workplaces and the construction of mosques.

Defence and security

“One of the first things I will do once in office is order a second warship. It is strategically important and we need one urgently,” Le Pen has said, indicating investment in security and military power. She plans to expel all foreign nationals with a conviction and put 15,000 more police on the streets. She would increase defence spending to three per cent.

“I want a more European defence, partnerships between France and Germany,” Macron has said. He also plans to hire 10,000 more police. He would increase defence spending to two per cent.

French history

Macron has said the 132-year colonisation of Algeria by France involved “crimes and acts of barbarism” that would today be acknowledged as “crimes against humanity”, in comments that temporarily cost him his lead in the polls.

Le Pen, unsurprisingly, disagreed with this view. She wrote on Facebook: “Is there anything worse when you want to become president than going abroad to accuse the country you want to lead of crimes against humanity?” Her politics are informed by a pride of French history.