(Bloomberg) -- Emmanuel Macron slipped in the first poll taken exclusively after the second television debate in France's presidential election, leaving him tied with the National Front's Marine Le Pen in first-round voting intention.
Both Macron and Le Pen now have the support of 23.5 percent of voters, with Macron down two points in a week and Le Pen down 0.5 points, according to an Elabe poll of 995 voters conducted April 5.
With less than three weeks to go until the first round of voting, the two leading candidates are maintaining their position ahead of the rest of the pack. Even so, public opinion remains fluid and third-placed Francois Fillon had his best showing in a month with 19 percent support. That leaves him a smaller gap with the two front-runners than at any time since February.
Le Pen would lose to both Macron and Fillon in the runoff vote scheduled for the two finalists on May 7, the Elabe poll showed.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Deen in Paris at markdeen@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net.
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