President Macron campaigns in north of France

French President Emmanuel Macron met with locals in the northern town of Denain on Monday where his right wing rival Marine Le Pen collected over 41% of votes as opposed to his 14% in the first round of presidential elections.

Macron met with area residents, many of whom criticized his proposed pension changes. Denain's mayor told that she would vote for Macron 'with no hesitation" in the second round, but intends to push for him to adopt more “leftist proposals." At the first round of elections, Macron had more than 27% and Le Pen had 23%. Macron improved on his first-round showing in 2017, despite his presidency being rocked by the yellow vest movement, the pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict.