French media outlets call on voters to cast ballots in favor of Macron to prevent Le Pen from coming to power

Numerous French media outlets called on voters to return Emmanuel Macron to the Élysée Palace on the last day before voting in the second round of the French presidential election began on Sunday.

Incumbent Macron will go head to head with far-right challenger Marine Le Pen for the second time, with observers around the world watching closely to see if Le Pen's concerted effort to soften her image and widen her appeal in recent years could actually translate to a massive political upset that would be felt around the world.

Daily newspaper Le Parisien asked whether, given the war in Ukraine, it was "appropriate to vote for a populist candidate who would, by her will to break with the past, add to this great crisis."

A Le Pen victory would mean the opposite of the national unity currently needed, the paper argued, adding that it would also make France an unreliable partner.

Conservative dailies Le Monde and Le Figaro both warned against voter complacency in the face of Macron's lead in the polls. "There is only one way to help prevent the candidate of a far-right party, Marine Le Pen, from coming to power on Sunday: vote for her opponent Emmanuel Macron," Le Monde wrote, adding that the advice applied regardless of Macron's mistakes and what it said was his responsibility for the strength of the political right in France.

"Neither abstaining nor staying away will be useful in any way to save our country from the worst," the paper's editorial continued.