Macron woos leftist voters as French campaign nears end

French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting a multicultural, working-class suburb north of Paris to woo leftist voters ahead of Sunday's presidential runoff against far-right challenger Marine Le Pen

SAINT-DENIS, France -- French President Emmanuel Macron visited a multicultural, working-class suburb north of Paris on Thursday to woo leftist voters ahead of Sunday's presidential runoff vote against far-right challenger Marine Le Pen.

Reflecting the vote's wide international influence, the centrist Macron received support Thursday from the center-left leaders of Germany, Spain and Portugal, who urged French voters to choose him over the nationalist Le Pen. Their appeals came only a day after imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny also spoke up about the French vote, alleging that Le Pen is too closely linked to Russian authorities to become France's next president amid Russia's war on Ukraine.

Macron, who led the first round of voting on April 10 that eliminated 10 other candidates, said he was taking nothing for granted and was seeking broader support.

“Nothing is final until the last minute,” Macron said Thursday, as recent opinion polls show a stabilized lead against his rival.