2017 French Presidential Election Sunday April 23,2017 - Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen made it to the second round of the election

French voters turned their backs on the political establishment last night in round one of the presidential election.

Emmanuel Macron – an independent centrist – won first place ahead of National Front leader Marine Le Pen. 

For the first time in post-war history, a major world democracy has, at a stroke, rejected the grand old party machines of both Left and Right – neither of which now survives to the final round of voting a fortnight hence.

The party of the hopeless outgoing French president Francois Hollande – who was famously the darling of Ed Miliband – has been obliterated.

After an emphatic step to the Right, the country now faces a stark choice between the far-Right anti-EU Front National (FN) candidate Miss Le Pen, and the young, untried ex-banker Emmanuel Macron, leading his own ‘none-of-the-above’ centre-Left movement.

The result will have major implications for Britain and its departure from the EU.

Miss Le Pen wants to completely renegotiate France’s relationship with Brussels while Mr Macron wants closer links.  

According to France's Interior Ministry, 46 million people voted in the first stage of the elections which knocked the traditional Right and Left parties out of the running for the first time in 60 years.

With 97 % of the vote counted, Macron achieved 23.9 %, followed by Le Pen on 21.4 %. 

A total of 36.7million voted, a turnout of 78.2 %

People line up to vote at a polling station in the first round of 2017 French presidential election in Vaulx-en-Velin, France, April 23, 2017

Outgoing French president Francois Hollande casts his ballot at a polling station in Tulle (left) as Marine Le Pen emerges from a booth (right)

Former French President and former Head of Les Republicains right wing Party Nicolas Sarkozy (centre) and his wife, the singer Carla Bruni Sarkozy (left) vote in the first round of the 2017 French Presidential Election at the Jean de la Fontaine High School in the 16th arrondissement on April 23, 2017 in Paris, France

Emmanuel Macron, a 39-year-old who had never before stood for election and only started his independent centrist movement, En Marche!, 12 months ago

He said he wants to gather 'the largest possible' support before the May 7 runoff. He praised his supporters for a campaign that 'changed the course of our country'