Macron, Le Pen face off ahead of election

French President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival Marine Le Pen are wasting no time to fight for swing voters, mainly from the left, ahead of the Sunday presidential election runoff, which neither seems guaranteed to win.

Three polls of voting intention for the second round put Macron, a centrist, at the highest level since before the first round on April 10. The average score was 55.83 percent, up more than a point from Friday and more than three points from an average of five polls before the first round.

An Ipsos poll showed that Macron won 56.5 percent of the vote, up half a point from Friday and 3.5 points from April 8, two days before the vote in which Macron and Le Pen qualified for the second round.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex cautioned about complacency.

"The game isn't done and dusted and we certainly cannot draw the conclusion," he told French media.

"We have to convince the French that Emmanuel Macron's programs are the best for France and for them. Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are being put on the same level, but there are enormous differences between them."

The two candidates were getting ready for their final debate on Wednesday evening local time as a major effort to defeat the rival. The second-round debate is a mainstay of the French presidential election tradition.

The two sides have stepped up attacks of each other in the past days.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Europe 1 radio that Le Pen would "hand France's sovereignty to Vladimir Putin and to Russia" if she was elected.

Meanwhile, Le Pen, which has softened her tone on key issues such as immigration during this campaign, accused Macron and his allies of fearmongering against her.

"Macron, aware of his somber prospects of winning a second term, has turned to… blackmail by fear. Fear is the president's only remaining argument," she said in a campaign clip.

Both campaigns are seeking to attract voters who backed far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, who came in third in the first round and viewed by many as a kingmaker. Melenchon's party has not given any clear instructions to its supporters but after the first round, Melenchon has called on his followers not to vote for Le Pen.

A low voter turnout on Sunday is a deep concern for observers. About a quarter of the French voters did not vote in the first round, the highest number since 2002.

An Ifop poll ahead of the first round showed that 80 percent of French voters felt that the campaign was of "poor quality". Another poll, by Ipsos-Sopra Steria, showed that 55 percent of respondents were "unhappy" and 37 percent downright "angry".

Agencies contributed this story.