"It's been 15 years since we last had a candidate intent on sovereignty who got through to the second round," says Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, niece of the leader and a major figure in the National Front.

Image source, Getty Images

The BBC's Kevin Connolly reports from Marine Le Pen's headquarters in the northern town of Hénin-Beaumont:

"At a sports hall in the old mining town, loyal supporters erupted in cheers when it became clear French TV projected that she'd made into the second round.

"Their blue-and-white banners say 'Marine-Présidente' and as they waited for the announcement they managed a slightly ragged rendition of the Marseillaise and the occasional chant of ´On va gagner' (We're going to win.)

"Her supporters, though, have a worry: the general assumption in French politics is that in a second round, mainstream voters from right and left will rally behind any other candidate to beat her. That's an electoral mountain to climb. But those fears are for tomorrow. Tonight the French National Front is celebrating."

Bernard Cazeneuve has called on all democrats to vote for Emmanuel Macron, the centrist candidate now predicted as challenger to far-right leader Marine Le Pen, Reuters reports.

Emmanuel Macron to AFP news agency: "A new page in French politics is being turned."

Polls have just closed in the French presidential election and projections on all three main French TV networks suggest that centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine le Pen will contest the second round on 7 May. What is not clear is who won.

A Kantar survey for TF1/RTL says the two front-runners both polled 23%.

For France 2, Emmanuel Macron has 23.7% and Marine Le Pen 21.7%.

Beaten Socialist candidate Benoît Hamon: "This is a moral defeat for the left."

Initial estimates according to Ipsos-Sopra Steria poll for France Télévisions:

Emmanuel Macron: 23.7%

Marine Le Pen: 21.7%

François Fillon: 19.5%

Jean-Luc Mélenchon: 19.5 %

Benoît Hamon: 6.2%

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan: 5%

Jean Lassalle: 1.5%

Philippe Poutou: 1.2%

François Asselineau: 0.8%

Nathalie Arthaud: 0.7%

Jacques Cheminade: 0.2%

Image source, Reuters

Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Front (FN), is projected to contest the second round of elections against En Marche's Emmanuel Macron.

So who is she?

• She's been the leader of the party since 2011 when she took over from her father, and she was its lawyer beforehand
• She led the party to big electoral gains in regional elections in 2015
• She's been a frontrunner for most of the presidential campaign but is not expected to win any second round
• She personally has attempted to soften some of the far right politics and the controversial views of her party on foreigners, but she is hardline on immigration
• She is an MEP for North West France

  What does she want?  

• Negotiation with Brussels on a new EU, followed by a referendum
• "Automatic" expulsion of illegal immigrants and legal
• immigration cut to 10,000 per year following an immediate 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?

The BBC went to Marseille and asked: What did voters think about the race to choose the next French president?

Image source, Getty Images

Emmanuel Macron, the founder and leader of En Marche!, is projected to contest the second round of elections against Front National's Marine Le Pen.

So who is he?

• An ex-banker who has never stood for election before, he was an economic adviser to current President Francois Hollande, and then the economy minister
• He deregulated some industry sectors and allowed shops to open for longer on Sundays as well as championing digital start-ups
• He worked for a Socialist government but some on the left of the party opposed him

What does he want?

• €50bn (£43bn; $53bn) public investment plan to cover job-training, exit from coal and shift to renewable energy, infrastructure and modernisation
• Reimbursement of full cost of glasses, dentures and hearing aids
• Big cut in corporation tax and more leeway for companies to renegotiate 35-hour week
• Cut in jobless rate to 7% (now 9.7%)
• Ban on mobile phone use in schools for under-15s and a €500 culture pass for 18 year olds

You can read more about him here:

Emmanuel Macron's meteoric rise

France's Macron joins presidential race to 'unblock France'

According to French TV projections, centrist Emmanuel Macron is heading for 23.7% of the vote and far-right Marine Le Pen for 21.7%. The other two front-runners polled over 19%. Ms Le Pen's supporters are waving flags and cheering and party headquarters in Hénin-Beaumont.

Across France, in overseas territories and in places abroad with big expat French populations, people voted in the first round of the presidential elections.

Image source, reuters

This was in Marseille in southern France.

Image source, AFP

This was in French Guiana, a French overseas territory in South America.

Image source, afp

This was on the French island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean.

Image source, Reuters

In London, England, the city's French population joined long and snaking queues to vote; this was outside the French school, the Lycee Francais Charles de Gaulle.

Image source, EPA

And in Tunisia expats voted under the French and Tunisian flags.

Image source, AFP

Voting was open at the French embassy in Berlin, Germany.

Image source, AFP

In Spain, queues built up outside the French institute and French general consulate.

Centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen to contest French run-off, projected results say.

The last polling stations close on the hour in France's big cities.

The rest of the country has already voted and is settling down to watch the outcome on national TV.

Two must go through to the run-off: brush up on the politicians standing for France's top job.

The 11 contenders

This is Jean-Luc Mélenchon arriving surrounded by journalists. He's keeping quiet, but his campaign was renowned for its clever use of holograms. And in the last few weeks he's been rising in the polls. What's going through his mind?

Current affairs magazine Marianne says it has been told by National Front campaign director David Rachline it will have to watch the results on the TV and cannot enter the party's headquarters. The far-right FN apparently says the hall is too crowded and "we had to make choices". Marianne's accusing the party of censorship.

The BBC's Nuala McGovern sent this photo of voters in Nice, the city traumatised by a lorry attack claimed by so-called Islamic State on Bastille Day (14 July) last year. 

What we know about the Nice attack