PARIS — Mr Emmanuel Macron, a political novice who wants to deregulate the economy and deepen European Union (EU) integration, has defeated far-right candidate Ms Marine Le Pen to become the next French President.

He took more than 65 per cent of the vote, according to early results released by the Ministry of the Interior late last night (early this morning, Singapore time).

The vote was seen as a litmus test of Europe’s drift towards the far-right and the strength of global populism.

Ms Le Pen’s vote tally, at just below 35 per cent, marked a historic high for the French far right.

Yesterday’s polls followed an unprecedented campaign marked by scandal, repeated surprises and a last-minute hacking attack targeting Mr Macron.

Ms Le Pen, 48 — an eurosceptic, anti-immigration far-right candidate — portrayed the ballot as a contest between the “globalists” represented by her rival versus the “nationalists” who defend strong borders and national identities.

She was hoping to spring a shock result that would resonate as widely as Britain’s Brexit decision to withdraw from the EU or the unexpected victory of United States President Donald Trump.

Voter turnout was 65.3 per cent in the late afternoon (local time), a sharp drop of more than 6 per cent compared to the last presidential vote in 2012, the Ministry of the Interior said.

“The world is watching,” said 32-year-old marketing worker Marie Piot as she voted in a working-class part of north-west Paris.

“After Brexit and Trump, it’s as if we are the last bastion of the Enlightenment,” she added.

The polls took place with the authorities on high alert following a spate of terror attacks in Paris, Normandy and Nice. The courtyard outside the Louvre museum where Mr Macron had planned to celebrate election night was briefly evacuated after a suspicious bag was found.

The police said they carried out security checks in the area as a precaution, and later added that the situation there had returned to normal.

Ms Le Pen cast her ballot in her northern stronghold of Henin-Beaumont, where Femen activists climbed the scaffolding on a church and unfurled a banner reading: “Power for Marine, despair for Marianne”, referring to the symbol of France.

Mr Macron, 39, voted in the northern seaside resort of Le Touquet, where he has a holiday home.

Outgoing Socialist President Francois Hollande, who decided in December against seeking re-election, cast his ballot in his former electoral fiefdom of Tulle, in central France.

Mr Hollande, who plucked Mr Macron from virtual obscurity to name him economy minister in 2014, said voting “is always an important, significant act, heavy with consequences”.

It is the first time neither of the country’s traditional parties has a candidate in the final round of the presidential election under the modern French republic, founded in 1958.

The voting was overshadowed by hacking revelations that surfaced on Friday evening. An information blackout came into force shortly after.

Hundreds of thousands of emails and documents stolen from the Macron campaign were dumped online and spread by anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, in what the candidate called an attempt at “democratic destabilisation”. The authorities have opened an investigation into the incident.

Forecasts proved accurate for the presidential election’s first round last month, and markets earlier rose in response to Mr Macron’s widening lead over his rival after a bitter television debate on Wednesday.

A “Frexit” as espoused by Ms Le Pen would be far more devastating than Britain’s departure, since France is the second-biggest economy after Germany to use the euro. The country is also a central pillar of the EU and its mission of keeping post-war peace via trade and open borders.

Close to 60 per cent of those who had planned to vote for Mr Macron say they would do so to stop Ms Le Pen from being elected rather than because they fully agree with him.

However, the presidential election is unlikely to end the battle between the mainstream and more radical policies in France, with parliamentary elections next month being equally crucial.

Once the presidential ballot is over, attention will switch to whether the winner will be able to get a majority in Parliament. AGENCIES