Backgrounder: Two candidates in French election runoff

Centrist candidate and former minister of economy Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen on Sunday came out on top in the first round of the French presidential election, are scheduled to compete in a runoff vote on May 7, according to projections based on initial vote counts by polling agencies and official partial results.

Following are major facts about the two contenders:

-- Emmanuel Macon, 39, On the Move (En Marche)

Macron was an advisor to current President Francois Hollande during his election campaign and later became his economy minister in 2014 to replace ousted economy minister Arnaud Montebourg.

He was one of main figures that forged the law on growth and activity and responsibility pact, flagship pieces of the Socialist government's roadmap to revive sluggish growth and lower unemployment in France.

Two years later, he quit his post to focus on his political career after creating his own political movement "On the Move," which he described "neither in the left nor in the right."

Launching his own bid, Macron, a former investment banker, has been portraying himself as a "candidate for jobs," and proposing "progressive" measures to "pull France into the 21st century."

He pledged to further reduce French high employment charges and increase workers' minimum wages by 500 euros (535.9 U.S. dollars) per year by cutting taxes on wages. He also wants to raise taxes on consumption and wealthy pensioners.

Furthermore, he promised to cut public expenditure by 60 billion euros in order to stick to France's commitments to bring down budget deficit to the eurozone threshold of 3 percent.

He would also reduce corporate tax to 25 percent from the current 33.3 percent and to slash public sector headcount by 120,000 over the next term.

In addition, he proposed a public investment scheme worth 50 billion euros aimed to improve training, financing energy transition and modernizing the country's administrative services.

Macron promised to boost the defense budget, hire 10,000 police officers and raise funding for schools.

Following projections indicating he would advance to the second round, Macron greeted a cheerful crowd of supporters Sunday night, saying that "in one year, we have changed the face of French political life."

The centrist candidate, holding a prominent pro-European Union (EU) position throughout his campaign, urged unity in France and Europe, and pledged to revive European projects.

"I will be a president who transforms, protects and helps those have little," he said, promising to embrace "all the French people."

-- Marine Le Pen, 48, National Front (Front National)

Heading the National Front party, the 48-year-old lawyer portrayed herself as "the candidate of people" and a credible voice to secure secularism and French identity by toughening citizenship requirements, shutting borders and forbidding foreigners from access to any social aid.

She said to put to voters via a referendum a proposal to reserve certain rights, including free education, now available to all residents, to French citizens only.

If elected, Le Pen pledged to impose an extra tax on companies who hire foreigners and make harder for illegal migrants to legalize their situation.

Le Pen targets a GDP growth at 2.5 percent per year by the end of 2022 and a budget deficit at 1.3 percent, down from an expected rate of 4.5 percent in 2018.

She promised to cut charges on small enterprises and on households, in addition to lower retirement age to 60 from 62.

The French lawyer was the youngest daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the National Front (FN).

Le Pen joined the National Front in 1986 at the age of 18. She joined its Political Bureau in 2000 and became the party's vice president in 2003.

In 2011, she succeeded his father to head the National Front party created in 1972.

Le Pen was the only FN candidate to pass the first round of 2007 legislative elections and garnered 42 percent of votes in the second round.

In 2012, Le Pen came third in presidency election first round with an unexpected high vote of 17.9 percent.

In 2014, the party reported big gains in the EU ballots after collecting 24.85 percent of the vote and snatched 24 seats in the European Parliament.

At a gathering after Sunday's vote, Le Pen hailed the results as "historic," and expressed "profound gratitude" to her supporters.

She called on voters to join her to create "national unity," promising to bring "great alternative" to the country. Endit