First editions have been published in France and the UK.

The Guardian says today's result "redraws the French political divide", while The Times suggests that the French "elite" have been "humiliated". 

The headline in France's Le Figaro, "Knock-out for the Right", focuses on the failure of François Fillon. Libération's headline "A step away" points out that Emmanuel Macron is closing in on the presidency.

The euro jumped 2% in early trading in Asia as the first round result became clear. The markets appear to be relieved that Emmanuel Macron, a mainstream candidate, is through to the run-off, rather than left-wing firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

You can read more here.

With 78% of the vote counted, the centrist candidate has moved ahead of Marine Le Pen. That is because the results are coming through from the big cities, where Emmanuel Macron has greater support than his far-right rival.

Here are the latest results from the interior ministry:

• Macron 23.23%
• Le Pen 22.83%
• Fillon 19.75%
• Mélenchon 18.92%
• Hamon 6.06%

Left-wing demonstrators have taken to the streets of several cities, including Nantes, in western France, and the centre of Paris. 

One organiser told news agency AFP "we came to protest against the masquerade of this election".

The hashtag #NuitDesBarricades, external ("night of barricades") is trending on Twitter.

Protesters in Nantes lit flares and carried banners condemning both run-off candidates: "Not a banker, nor a racist." 

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

Emmanuel Macron founded En Marche! (On the move) only a year ago and now he will fight the National Front's Marine Le Pen for the presidency on 7 May.

So who is he?

• An ex-banker who has never stood for election before, he was an adviser to outgoing Socialist President Francois Hollande, and then the economy minister
• As part of a deregulation drive, he allowed shops to open for longer on Sundays as well as championing digital start-ups
• He resigned from the government to contest the presidency as head of his own centrist movement

Image source, AFP

What does he want?

• Unify France's complex pension system, made up of 35 different public schemes
• Cut 120,000 public-sector jobs and bring down the budget deficit
• Big cut in corporation tax and more leeway for companies to renegotiate 35-hour week
• Send more teachers to deprived areas, ban mobile phone use in schools for under-15s
• A strong believer in the EU, he is calling for closer economic co-operation between eurozone countries.

You can read more about him here:

Emmanuel Macron's meteoric rise

Marine Le Pen will face Emmanuel Macron on 7 May, the first time the National Front has reached a presidential run-off since 2002, when her father was heavily defeated by Jacques Chirac.

So who is she?

• She's been the leader of the party since 2011 when she took over from her father
• She led the party to big electoral gains in regional elections in 2015
• She's been a front-runner for most of the presidential campaign but is not expected to win the second round
• She has softened the FN's far-right stance on many issues but remains hardline on immigration
• She is an MEP for north-west France

Image source, EPA

What does she want?  

• Negotiation with Brussels on a new EU, followed by a referendum
• "Automatic" expulsion of illegal immigrants
• Legal immigration cut to 10,000 per year following a total moratorium
• "Extremist" mosques closed and priority to French nationals in social housing
• Retirement age fixed at 60 and 35-hour week assured

You can read more about Marine Le Pen's story here:

Hugh Schofield: Is France's National Front leader far-right?

Three detained near Place de la Bastille as left-wing activists clash with security forces, France 2 reports

Only one candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon has refused to acknowledge that the result is clear. With more than two-thirds of the votes counted, the interior ministry says , externalMarine Le Pen is in the lead with 23.42%, Emmanuel Macron is close behind with 22.93%, François Fillon has 19.69% and Mr Mélenchon is on 18.61%. 

The pollsters predict Mr Macron will finish first because counting is still going on in the big cities. 

Footage has emerged of anti-National Front demonstrators clashing with riot police in the Bastille area of Paris, as Sunday's presidential election result became clear.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman tweets: "It's good that Emmanuel Macron was successful with his course for a strong EU and social market economy. All the best for the next two weeks."  The German leader met Mr Macron last month in Berlin.

Emmanuel Macron says he wants to be a "president for patriots faced with the threat of nationalism".  

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has congratulated Emmanuel Macron on today's result. 

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has praised Macron supporters for flying French and EU flags. "The result is the hope and future of our generation," she tweeted. 

Emmanuel Macron promises to be a "voice for hope for our country and Europe".

Macron pays homage to defeated candidates and vows to work for national unity

Front-runner Emmanuel Macron tells cheering supporters in Paris: "We have changed the face of French political life in one year."

Two new opinion polls suggest Emmanuel Macron would beat Marine Le Pen in the second round, and win heavily. The one below puts the margin at 62% to 38% while another for M6/Harris Interactive gives him an even bigger victory of 64% to 36%.

Polls before the first round also suggested an easy win. 

In a sports hall in the rundown mining town of Hénin-Beaumont, Marine Le Pen's supporters gave their leader a rapturous reception, and she gave us a first hint of how the second round of this election will be fought.

In a triumphant speech, greeted by her supporters with a stirring rendition of the Marseillaise, Ms Le Pen touched on immigration, as everyone would expect, but she also talked about patriotism, globalisation and the idea of a France that can hold its head high.

But she knows she has to subvert the conventional wisdom that in any second round mainstream voters of right and left will unite to defeat her. And she invited voters who backed other candidates in the first round to rally to the flag.

One senior member of the party said that might look like a mountain to climb to outsiders, but he said that the National Front (NF) believed she could do it, citing Emmanuel Macron’s support for the EU as a potential weakness they would attack.

The real work of the second round begins soon, but tonight in Hénin-Beaumont the NF is celebrating noisily, and the sound system at one point blared out "Staying Alive".